Loves Me Not
by KittiKat626
Summary: IchiRuki Fluffy oneshots! 20: Squish Thy Love When Rukia proclaimed her love for the little roach whom she had named Renji, Ichigo glared at it. When she turned her back, he picked up his shoe and squished it without mercy.
1. Strawberry

**One-shot Collection!**

I know, I know - I already have a one-shot collection. So, you might ask, why in the heck am I starting another one? Hmm ... well, I have begun this collection so I can put up all my fluffy, pointless stuff up. : D For all those people who don't like my depressing stuff, I give you this so you don't have to shuffle through my _mass_ amounts of stories to find something cute. Anyway ... here we go!

**Name: **Strawberry  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Romance/Humor  
**Summary: **Rukia discovers Uno attack ... and drives Ichigo to the point of insanity.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Strawberry**

Ichigo ground his teeth together, his pencil grasped so tightly in his hand he was afraid that he was going to break it. His eyes were boring into his Algebra paper, and he knew that if she didn't stop that _right now_, he was going to lose his mind. The noise assaulted his ears again and again and _again_.

Must ... not ... strangle ... midget ...

He finally lost it when she hit the button three times in a row, giggling when the cards flew all over the room.

Wait.

Kuchiki Rukia _did not_ giggle. She yelled, she screamed, punched, frowned, even spoke softly on occasion ... but she did not giggle. Yet as the sound floated through the room again followed by her quiet laugh, Ichigo was sure that he put it in the category of giggle. Then she pressed the button again. And again. And then ... silence. But she was just reloading the cards. Then she was back at it.

"_Rukia!_" he yelled, dropping his pencil as he stood up from his desk and clenched his fists as the legs of the chair scraped against the floor.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking up innocently as she kicked her legs back and forth in the air; she was laying on her stomach again. Ichigo walked over and put his foot on her hand, making it impossible to press the button that would send cards all across the room. She frowned and tried to pull her hand back, but he only stepped on it harder. She yelled, "Get off, fool! That hurts!"

"Stop pressing that button!"

"Why?"

She reached out her free hand and pressed the button again, watching as the cards flew out and hit Ichigo's leg. She smiled and sat up, reaching out with both her legs to kick him. Her small, bare feet both made contact with his knees and, with a yell and a few very colorful words, Ichigo fell backward.

"So fun."

The cards didn't come out until she had pressed it about three times, but when they did, at least five flew all over Ichigo's carpet. He sat up and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at her.

"Play with me, Ichigo," she said, gathering all the cards together and sticking them inside the bright yellow and red game. Ichigo shook his head, standing to his feet.

"Nuh uh. I have homework to do- "

He was cut off as she pressed that button again. His teeth were pressed so tightly together, he swore he could feel them beginning to turn to powder.

"And stop pressing that _freaking_ button!"

She pressed it again anyway. Ichigo dropped down at his desk again, taking his pencil and beginning to work out another problem. He would ignore it ... he could ignore it ... he _freaking couldn't_ ignore it ...

His pencil snapped in his hand and he looked down, surprised, as the two pieces fell upon his paper. Oh, she was going to pay. But when he turned around to yell at her, he stopped. She was laying on the floor, her light brown skirt riding a little up her legs every time she kicked her legs back and forth. It was never too far, and it always fell back in place. Her light pink sweater was pressed tightly around her body because of the position that she was laying in, and her soft black hair framed her face perfectly as she held her head in her hands in order to stare at the game, _Uno Attack_, better. As he continued to stare into her eyes and the happy glow they held, he sighed and walked over, sitting down on the floor.

"What is so interesting about watching cards fly around the room?" he asked. Maybe, just in order to make her stop it, he would play one game with her. Just one.

"I never saw anything like this in Soul Society. How does it work? Who throws the cards? Are there tiny people in there or something?"

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes.

"No, no tiny people, pee-brain."

Rukia glared at him and threw a small pile of cards in his face. They fell down, some stopping on his nose for a few seconds, and a few even stuck in his bright orange hair. He had began to remove them when Rukia decided that watching Ichigo being pelted with cards was more fun than watching them spit out of the machine; she threw another pile at him.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled, pulling the new cards from his hair and from the floor. Rukia laughed and threw another pile at him, and, deciding that throwing back was easier than trying to make her stop, Ichigo took the pile in his hands and let them fly all over her. She squeaked and jumped away from him, her eyes wide. He smirked.

"There. I feel better no-"

He was stopped when more cards, this time three-fourths of the deck, came and met him straight in the face. Spitting one out of his mouth, he shuffled them together hurriedly and chased after her, for she had already jumped to her feet and was running for the cover of her closet.

More squeaks followed when Ichigo grabbed the back of her sweater, pulled it a little, and dropped every single one of the cards that he held down her shirt. She glared at him in between desperate attempts to remove the cards from her clothing. Ichigo was laughing as he watched her hop like a chicken, and failed to notice that she had grabbed the extra deck of cards.

"Die, Strawberry!"

If Ichigo could have squeaked, that was what he would have done as he opened his eyes just in time to see Rukia, a slightly crazed look in her eyes, ready to pounce. He felt himself fall backward and Rukia landed on top of him. He was breathing heavily when he realized what position they were in. Rukia was smirking down at him, her elbows in his chest as she rested her head in her hands.

"Um... Rukia ... I, ah ..."

He couldn't form a sentence, much less piece his thoughts together enough to push her off.

"Hmm, Ichigo?" she asked, a soft tone to her voice, though slightly mischievous.

"Um ... you're ... sitting o-on top of me."

"Yup. What of it?"

When she started leaning closer to him, Ichigo's heart sped up. She wasn't ... was she? No, she wasn't going to kiss him ... right? His brain was telling him to just reach up about half an inch and close the gap while the _body_ on _top_ of him was telling him different.

After planting a tiny kiss on his lips, Rukia reached behind her and took the pile of cards into her hands, then stuffed them in Ichigo's gaping mouth.

"I win, Strawberry."

* * *

I have no clue, whatsoever, at _all_ where that came from. **O.o**

_**Please Review!**_


	2. Loves Me Not

**Name: **Loves Me Not  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Romance/Drama  
**Summary: **He loves me not. "Is there another one of those?" Ichigo asked gently, his grip on her hand tightening. "Because that's not how it's supposed to end."

**Author's Notes: **This story is what the collection was named after.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Loves Me Not**

Rukia let the wind gently flow through her hair as she twirled the flower around in her slim, pale fingers. It was another day coming to an end. The sun was beginning to go down and the beautiful colors painting the sky made her smile as she sat down on the edge of the cliff and kicked her feet back and forth. She reached up two fingers and gently tore one of the small petals off of the daisy; there seemed to be hundreds.

"He loves me," she quietly whispered, letting the wind catch the petal. She watched as it floated off into the distance.

_"Hand me that blade, Shinigami."_

"He loves me not." Another petal came off and another tear was held back.

_"My name is Kuchiki Rukia. I'll be sitting next to you."_

"He loves me."

_"It wasn't a Hollow that killed my mom. It was ... me."_

"He loves me not."

_"So ... you wanted one shaped like a rabbit, huh?"_

"He loves me." She was trying not to cry. She really was.

_"If ... if you take even one step to follow me! I ... I will _never_ forgive you!"_

"He loves me not."

_"Is there a way to save Rukia? Tell me!!"_

"He loves me." Rukia, despite trying not to cry, let a few tears slip from her violet eyes as she closed them, taking in a shaking breath.

_"I don't just _want_ to save Rukia ... I'm _have_ to save her!"_

"He loves me not." Her hands were shaking as she tore the petal from the flower; she couldn't hold them still.

_"I came to save you, Rukia."_

"He loves me."

_"The power in my hand ... was gained for HER sake!"_

"He loves me not."

_"I ... I've decided to stay here, in Soul Society, Ichigo."_

"He loves me."

_"Because of you, Rukia, the rain has finally stopped falling."_

"He loves me not." The flower was running out of petals.

_"The man that you have been in my heart, Ichigo, would do exactly that!"_

"He loves me." She didn't count the remaining amount of petals left; she didn't want to know.

_"You ... you have your Shinigami powers back?"_

"He loves me not." Her fingers were shaking. The stupid flower ... it didn't mean anything. But since he wouldn't say it ... maybe she needed to say it for him.

_"As long as he's safe ... it's fine.""_

"He loves me."

It was the last petal. The wind caught it like it had all the others and it flew away into the wind, never to be seen again.

"I thought you knew that."

Rukia's eyes went wide as she turned around. Her hands dropped the stem of the flower and she held onto the grass from the ground tightly. Her gaze softened when she realized who it was.

"I-Ichigo ... "

He smirked as he walked over and took her hand, helping her to her feet.

"Come on, dope; don't sit that close. Something ... something might happen to you."

Rukia smiled a little. "Ah."

"Why were you crying?"

"No ... no reason." Rukia wiped her final tears away and smiled; she had been crying because of what he wouldn't say, because maybe he didn't want to say it ... because he didn't want to hurt her when, no, _if_ he left.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

Rukia didn't answer. She just turned around, her smile growing when she felt his arms wrap protectively around her waist to keep her from accidentally falling over the edge. Water gently lapped at the cliff below, and the last rays of light from the sun were dancing in the night sky. Stars were starting to appear, and as she strained her eyes, she could make out a single flower petal on the ground.

Pulling herself from Ichigo's embrace, she reached down and picked it up, fingering it gently. Ichigo looked at her curiously, reaching out to take her hand again, like she could fall any second, like he wanted to protect her from any awaiting danger.

"He loves me not," she said, letting the petal, which had fallen from her flower, fly off in the wind. If it had stayed on ... it would have ended that way, anyway.

"Is there another one of those?" Ichigo asked gently, his grip on her hand tightening. "Because that's not how it's supposed to end."

"Really?" she asked quietly. "Even if one of us has to leave someday?"

"Even then."

"There aren't any flower petals left," she said quietly. Ichigo reached down and plucked another flower from the ground, reaching over her shoulder to hand it to her.

"Then we'll just have to try until we get one that ends right."

Rukia nodded, a soft smile gracing her lips as she began to take the petals off one by one.

"He loves me not ..."

"I love you."

* * *

Well ... whatcha think? I had a lot of fun writing it; personally, I'm proud of how it turned out. : D

**_Please Review!_**


	3. Curiosity

**Name: **Curiosity  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Genres: **Humor/Fluff  
**Summary: "**Ichigo, why do humans make such a big deal out of sex?"

**Author's Notes: **THIS is weird. Be warned. Be _very_ warned.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

Curiosity 

"Ichigo, why do humans make such a big deal out of sex?"

Ichigo choked on the cookie he was eating and his eyes grew wide as Rukia dropped down on his bed and stared into his eyes; he was sitting at his desk, and as small pieces of cookie began to sprinkle all over his homework, Rukia gave him a funny look. She asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he snapped, turning back to his homework and trying to keep the blush off of his face.

"Answer my question."

He groaned as he looked over to see Rukia flip on her back, her bare feet not even reaching the middle of the bed as she laid her head on his pillow and let out a large sigh. Her cheeks puffed out for a second with the air before she turned her face to stare into his eyes again. He quickly tore his gaze away from her and mumbled something under his breath; she didn't hear.

"Huh? Anyway, why _do_ humans make such a big deal about it? Animals and even _plants_ sexually reproduce, but you don't see _them_ making a huge deal out of it."

Ichigo was gaping like a fish as he tried to form words; all that came out were small squeaks. Rukia continued like she didn't even notice.

"It's like, I heard some people nearly 'doing it' in the alley way and they were like, "Oooh, Ryuu!" and "Oooh, Kaori!" ... it was weird."

Ichigo was slowly turning into a full-blown tomato.

"But in school today, we were talking about animals ... did you know that dolphins are the only animals that have sex for pleasure?"

There was _no way_ he was having this conversation with her. None. At all. But as she continued to ramble on, her feet slowly making wrinkle patterns in his quilt, he realized that short of strangling her, there was nothing he could do to make her stop talking. But then, _then_, she asked the question that made him drop his head on the table with a large 'thunk'.

"Have you ever had sex, Ichigo?"

A quickly sputtered, "No!" was all Rukia needed to go back to rambling; it seemed like she either didn't care of he was listening or didn't notice that he was about to spontaneously combust; his face was red and his brain was desperately trying to ignore her.

"Anyway, when I was growing up, a lot of the older kids had sex to keep warm. How does that work?"

"Don't know."

Why didn't he just tell her to shut up? Oh, yeah; then she would never leave him alone about it because she knew the reaction she would get.

"I wouldn't know, of course, because I never did it, but some girls used to tell me about it. _They_ never made a big deal out of it either, but the girls at school ... wow, now _they're_ a different story. And you never answered my question, Ichigo. Why _do_ humans make such a big deal out of sex?"

Ichigo sputtered, but finally turned to face her. The completely innocent look on her face made him want to scream. Her bright violet eyes were staring into his and her bare feet were now pulled up against her body and her hands were tucked under her head.

"Well ... ah ... go ask my dad."

"OK!"

Ichigo's eyes went wide and he pushed her back down on the bed as she happily jumped up and started to head for the door. He yelled, "No! Just kidding!"

Rukia pouted and crossed her legs as she stared at him. She said, "Then _you_ tell me! Is it really so hard to answer a question like that? The girls at school were going on and on and on about that stuff today; I actually ate some of Inoue-san's lunch when she offered so I could go the nurse to escape the awkward questions they were asking me, as I don't know the first thing about sex."

"_Fine_, I'll answer if you'll stop talking about it!"

"OK," Rukia agreed, sitting back on the bed and smiling.

"Well ... here on Earth, most people, well, young people, like sixteen and seventeen, don't have sex in order to have children ... like the dolphins - " He felt _really_ stupid saying that. " - They have sex for pleasure."

"I still don't understand the big deal about it!" Rukia said, exasperated, as she flopped back down on the bed. Ichigo went back to his homework, trying to ignore her as she flipped through her Biology book, occasionally commenting on how animals or plants sexually reproduced. Her hair was falling over her eyes, making it impossible for him to see her expression, but he knew that she would probably be frowning the smallest bit with her tongue out the right side of her mouth; she always looked like that when she was concentrating on something.

"You know ... " Rukia began; Ichigo dropped his head on his desk with a loud groan. "The Queen Bee in a hive's only purpose in life is to lay eggs. Laying eggs is a way of reproduction ... so does that mean that she makes a big deal out of sex, too?"

Ichigo hit his head on his desk.

"I - " _Hit-_ "Don't." -_Hit-_ "Know." _-Hit-_.

"Ichigo?"

"Noo!"

"Huh?" Her eyes were wide at Ichigo's out-burst. "All I wanted to ask was if you had an extra pencil ... "

She trailed off as she stared into Ichigo's face; his eyes were wide and he looked slight traumatized.

"Oops?"

* * *

Huh. Weeeird. I had this idea when my sister was complaining about having to learn how _plants _sexually reproduced. They actually do, you know. Not like we do ... but they do. Anyway ... I do believe that Rukia has never had sex. She might be veeery old, but I doubt that while in the Academy or while she was a Shinigami, she had time to dwell on such things.

**_Please Review!_**


	4. Puddle Jumping

**Name: **Puddle Jumping  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Romance/Fluff  
**Summary: **Rain ... it rained that day. But this time ... _she _helped him enjoy it.

**Author's Notes: **I like puddles. And jumping in them. Yees, this is another work of fluff by meee!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Puddle Jumping**

"Make sure to wear a coat, Ichi-nii! It's really cold," Yuzu said, hands on her hips and a cooking spoon clasped tightly in her fingers. She was scowling a little, for both Ichigo and Rukia had nearly run outside into the rain without coats. Why were they in such a hurry, anyway? ... "You, too, Rukia-chan; I don't wanting you and Ichi-nii to get sick!"

"Whatever!"

"Sorry, Yuzu-chan!"

The two responses were totally different, and Ichigo sighed, backtracking a little, as he grabbed both his and Rukia's coats off of the coat hanger in the doorway. After handing Rukia hers and pulling his own on, the two continued to rush out.

Yuzu sighed.

When they came back with colds, _she_ wasn't going to be the ones to take care of them.

* * *

"Hmm ... when did it start raining?" Rukia asked, clasping her hands behind her back as she let the rain fall down on her face; she was trying to see into the sky, but she was being blinded by the pouring raindrops. Ichigo, beside her, shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care."

"Suck it up, Ichigo; just because Ishida-kun got the Hollow and you didn't get to fight is no reason to pout."

Ichigo just grunted in response. He hadn't had any good Hollows to fight in days because that I'm-God-worship-me Quincy had been killing them all. Sighing, he stuck his hands in his soggy pockets. Why did it always seem like it was raining? But ... for some reason, the rain didn't seem to bother him today. He changed his mind, however, when Rukia jumped into a very large, very full puddle; all the water flew into his face, and as she giggled, he just glared at her, water dripping off of his now soaked orange hair and his nose.

She smiled, saying, "C'mon, loosen up, Ichigo."

"You just splashed me with a ton of water and you say _loosen up_?" he asked, frowning as he tried to spike his hair back up; it didn't work, however, as the rain was pouring down on it. Rukia stuck her tongue out at him as she shrugged off her coat.

"Pee-brain! What are you doing? Put that back on!"

"No; I want to feel the rain on my skin. It feels refreshing."

"Hn."

Ichigo ignored her as they continued to walk.

Until she jumped in another puddle.

And he was soaked again. It didn't make much of a difference; he was already completely soggy. But the water was _freezing_ and it felt like she has just dumped a whole ton of it on his bare skin.

"R-Rukia, I swear, if you do that again ... "

"You'll do what, Ichigo? Glare at me?" Rukia asked, turning to walk backward as she continued to hop though the puddles; not only was Ichigo getting wet, but she was, too.

"No more puddle jumping!"

"What's puddle jumping?" she asked, her hands at her side as she bounced in the air and landed in a very large puddle. Her cheeks were bright red from the cold and her khaki skirt and maroon sweater were already soaked. Her sweater was hugging her small body tightly from the water that was caked into the threads and her socks were squishing in her shoes with each step she took.

"Puddle jumping is ... _jumping in puddles_."

It struck Ichigo odd that someone who was so good at the Demon Arts couldn't figure out what puddle jumping was. It was like ... 'Duh, dope'.

"Hmm ... well, puddle jumping is fun! Come on, Ichigo. 'Puddle Jump' with me." She was grinning, and the red tint to her cheeks had only grown as she grew wetter and wetter. Ichigo sighed; there was no way in the world he was going to jump through puddles with some short, feisty little Shinigami. No way.

"Please, Ichigo?"

Her lip was sticking out. She was _pouting_.

He growled in the back of his throat, then, surveying his current soaked state, he sighed, saying,

"Why the hell not? I'm already soaked to the bone so I-."

Rukia smiled and proceeded to jump into a huge puddle fight next to Ichigo. When the water flew up and covered him head to toe, he stopped speaking, his eyes closing briefly. Rukia laughed as water dripped down his nose.

He sighed, running a hand though his hair. "You do realize ... "

"Hm?"

"_This_ means war!"

Rukia let out an impressive squeak as Ichigo jumped into a puddle only inches from her. It sprayed them both pretty well, and as she ran off, presumably in search of another large puddle, Ichigo smirked. There was no way he was letting her go after she had pouted like that to get him to play.

Happy shouts filled the air as puddles were jumped in and Ichigo and Rukia grew more and more soaked. Ichigo actually found fun in jumping into the puddles, and soon, they were no longer trying to soak each other, but trying to soak themselves as badly as they could.

Rukia had just jumped into a very deep puddle of water which had flown up her skirt and made her shriek when Ichigo lifted her up and placed her on his shoulders. She shrieked louder and he smirked up at her. He said, "If you're up there, you can't jump in puddles and therefore, I win."

Ichigo's smirk was still in place as he continued to jump through the puddles. Rukia protested loudly.

"Hey! That's cheating! The idea was to see who could get the most wet, not put Rukia on your shoulders so you could cheat!"

"Hn. You're too loud," Ichigo observed. "Ouch."

The latter was added as Rukia kicked him. He held tighter on her ankles and said, "Besides, the puddles are getting deep and you might drown, you bein' so short and all."

That was the _last_ straw.

Rukia kicked Ichigo with both her feet at once and he, surprised, let go of her ankles. And she, surprised, fell backward into a patch of grass ... and a puddle. Now, covered in mud from head to toe and soaked in water, Rukia, eyes wide with shock, tried to form words, but her lips just opened and closed a few times. Ichigo laughed.

"Serves ya right. But it's safe to say you win."

Rukia just glared at him as he rolled his eyes and reached out his hand for her to take; she grasped it up and, once she was on her feet, she wiped some of the mud off of her cheeks and began to make patterns on Ichigo's nose. He just stuck his tongue out and slumped, letting her draw chappy bunnies on him; they would wash off before the got back home, anyway. When she was finished, she wiped her hands off on her soaked skirt and began trailing behind him as he walked.

"C'mon, we should be getting home."

"Ah."

"What's wrong, dope?" Ichigo asked, watching as Rukia walked a little ahead of him as he paused in his tracks.

"Home."

She would never cease to confuse him. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Ichigo started to trail behind her again.

* * *

"_Achoo_!"

Another sneeze, another Kleenex and another sigh from a sister who was constantly saying, "I told you so," to the two bodies laying out on the couch; it was a pullout bed and Isshin insisted that _he_ needed the other _whole couch_ for his feet, so they were forced to share.

"I think I hate you, Rukia."

"I hate you, too, Ichigo."

He was never, ever, puddle jumping again, he decided as he sneezed again; even if Rukia gave him puppy dog eyes.

* * *

Don't have a clue where it came from, but I hope you like it!

**_Please Review!_**


	5. Alphabet II

**Name: **Alphabet Soup II — Miracle  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Genres: **Romance/Fluff/Drama/Humor  
**Summary: **Miracles only happen once, huh? Then how did Ichigo live through _both _Byakuya finding Ichigo in Rukia's bed, then finding out his sister was pregnant?

**Author's Notes:** The previous story is listed in my collection **A Story A Day Keeps The Arrancar Away!** and if you woud like to read it first.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Alphabet Soup II — Miracle**

Rukia was standing with her back to the window when he came though. She was wearing her thin nightgown, as it was summer, and her hand was gently rubbing her two-month pregnant stomach. She was just starting to show, and was having trouble hiding it.

He smiled, his eyes glowing in the moonlight as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She jumped slightly in surprise as his rough hands gently caressed her stomach. Relaxing in his grip, she turned around and placed a gentle kiss to his lips as he smiled down at her, his amber eyes glowing and his orange hair alight from the moon. He said slowly, carefully, as his hands strayed to her stomach again,

"So, it is true."

She smiled and nodded, placing her hand over his.

"Yeah. You're going to be a daddy."

If it was possible, his grin grew as he leaned down and gently kissed her stomach, leaning his ear against the soft fabric of her nightgown.

When he stood back up, he cupped her face in his hands as he kissed her. The innocent kiss soon grew into more, and he pulled back, panting slightly, saying, "Sure it's OK, Rukia? ... what about the baby?"

"I'm not far enough along for it to hurt the baby, Ichigo," she said impatiently, kissing him again. It'd been two months since she had seen him.

"If you say so."

After gently making love, Ichigo was resting beside Rukia, his head on her chest as he ran his hand over her stomach. She rested her head comfortably in the pillow as he did this, and would, once in a while, reach out to put her hand over his; she'd never known that the baby would capture so much of his attention.

"You want a boy or girl?" he asked, kissing her stomach again before bringing his head up to meet her eyes. She shrugged and cuddled close to him as she wrapped the blanket more firmly around her bare body.

"It doesn't matter to me; as long as our baby is healthy. But ... I think I'd like a baby boy. Strong like his daddy."

"Hmm ... well, I want a baby girl ... as long as she doesn't kick as hard as you."

"Shove it." Rukia glared at him, but then shook her head, sighing as a small smile came to her lips. "Whatever. Come on; let's get some sleep. We have to tell everyone tomorrow."

"Huh?" Ichigo asked, a worried look crossing over his features. "Why tomorrow?"

"Because, dope, I'm beginning to show and unless you can think of a reason why I've suddenly gained weight ... we have to tell people."

Ichigo sighed in defeat, muttering, "You're brother will skin me alive," as he wrapped his arms around Rukia and buried his face in her neck. She grinned and said, "Nah, he won't kill you. Someone needs to be a daddy to my baby. He'll just hurt you real bad."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

* * *

Byakuya walked to his sister's room at around eight in the morning; she was sleeping in later than usual. Well, not usual ... for the past two weeks, she had been sleeping, eating and throwing up a lot. There was only one thing he could think of, besides the flu, that _that_ could be ...

Shoving _those_ thoughts to the back, dark corner of his mind, Byakuya reached out a hand to knock on the door.

"Rukia, it's time to get up."

Nothing.

He knocked twice.

Still nothing.

Three times.

_Still_ nothing.

He finally pushed open the door ...

... and, his eyes wide, he yelled, "_Kurosaki!_"

* * *

Ichigo was awakened rather rudely by the loud, shrill voice of a man he never wanted to see again. Rukia, who had also awoken, squeaked loudly and jumped under the covers, curling up to Ichigo's body as said Dandelion sat up quickly, pulling the quilt over his body as he sent Byakuya a glare that would have killed a lesser man.

"Get the hell out!" Ichigo yelled, his own amber eyes wide. Byakuya turned on his heal and stalked out of the room; Ichigo swore that steam was coming from the older man's ears.

Once he was out of sight, which probably meant just around the corner, Ichigo pulled the blanket back to expose a shaking Rukia. He smirked, saying, "Well, that went better than expected."

Rukia glared at him, kicked him, and jumped out of bed as she went in search of her clothing. Ichigo soon followed and after that, two ears were pressed tightly up against the door as they listened for any signs that Byakuya was standing outside, knife and fork at the ready to butcher Ichigo. They heard nothing, so Ichigo gently pushed the door open to come face-to-face with Rukia's steaming brother.

"What in the hell were you doing _violating_ my sister?"

"See ... that's the funny thing. We've been together for nearly seven months already ... and you were too dim to notice a thing."

He was _really_ pushing it.

The look on Byakuya's face as Rukia stepped in between the two men could have made a Menos Grande shrink back in fear.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia yelled, her lips firmly set and her eyes un-readable. "Ichigo! Both of you, cut it out! Nii-sama, what I do with my life and whom I give myself to is none of your concern. Ichigo, stop provoking needless fights!"

Ichigo shrugged and sighed in defeat; he _did not_ want to go up against a pregnant, moody Rukia first thing in the morning. He needed coffee first.

"Rukia ... "

There was a warning tone to Byakuya's voice as he started directly at his sister, who was now holding Ichigo's hand. Rukia's violet eyes were firmly set and her gaze told him that nothing he said would make a difference.

"Nii-sama, my life is my own, and I will do with it what I please. We ... me and Ichigo also have something else to tell you. Please, may we sit down?"

They all three walked into the living room and Ichigo dropped without a word into the nearest couch. Rukia sat beside him, her hands folded over her slightly swelling stomach, and Byakuya across from them. No one spoke for a few second until Byakuya said, "What is it that you need to speak about?"

Rukia bit her lip as she turned to Ichigo for help; she had known that it would come to this, but she didn't want to be the one to tell her brother.

"Ah, well, ya see ... " Ichigo began, sitting straighter as he ran a hand through his hair. "MeandRukiaregoingtobeparentsinaboutsevenmonths."

Byakuya couldn't make out a single word he said; Rukia rolled her eyes and, after jabbing Ichigo in the stomach with her elbow, said, "Nii-sama, what Ichigo was _trying_ to say was that I am pregnant, and in about seven months, him and I are going to be parents."

Byakuya's expression showed surprise for a split second before he closed his eyes and said, "I see."

Ichigo could see the anger radiating from Byakuya's body. There was no way, given his own choice, that Byakuya would have allowed such a man as Ichigo to knock his sister up and then expect him to take things calmly, which Ichigo and Rukia certainly did not. His eyes opening, all he said was, "Kurosaki, if you do not take care of Rukia and this child, I will _kill_ you, understand?"

Ichigo squeaked something that might have been something from a 'yes' to a 'dress'.

Standing up, Byakuya turned his back to them as he said, "In light of recent ... _events_ ... it is clear that a proper wedding is in order."

"Wa ... " Ichigo didn't even finish the word he was beginning to speak. Byakuya continued, turning to stare at both Ichigo and Rukia.

"No Kuchiki will give birth to a child without a _proper_ husband. Rukia, Kurosaki, the wedding will take place as soon as possible."

"But I-"

"No comments!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ichigo could see that, if he had responded in any negative way to Byakuya, despite his being stronger than the noble man, Byakuya would have torn him limb from limb.

"Very good. Now ... I expect, also in following Kuchiki tradition, that if the child is a male ... he will be named after the highest male in the family; me."

"Rukia ... _please_ make the baby a girl," he pouted, his head dropping in his hands.

"What can I do about it?" Rukia asked, a scowl on her face as Ichigo shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know! Just ... I don't want to name my first baby after _him_!" Ichigo pointed to Byakuya, completely ignoring the man's presence in the room.

"Who says your getting any more babies?" Rukia asked, her arms crossed over her chest. "From what I can tell so far, I don't like the side effects of pregnancy much."

"Rukiaaaa!"

Byakuya had never heard Ichigo whining before.

"I can't do anything, Ichigo, don't whine at me!" Rukia said, her violet eyes staring directly into Ichigo's. Byakuya actually felt a little sorry for the orange-haired man that was currently melting under the gaze of Rukia Kuchiki.

"And I don't like the name Kurosaki. Can't _you_ change _your_ name?" Rukia asked, dropping back into the couch, her arms over her chest. Ichigo smiled; at least she wasn't protesting to the marriage.

"Oh, Kurosaki ... " Byakuya began speaking and Ichigo raised his eyebrows as he turned his gaze from Rukia, who now had her legs drawn up to her chest and her slim arms wrapped around them. " ... This will require you to live in Soul Society. And, in order to support Rukia and the child, you will gain a position on one of the squads. And ... if it is in my division, pray that the only thing you'll be is injured."

Ichigo gulped. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Now, only to stay that way until he got to see his baby.

Easier said than done.

* * *

Yeah, yeah, yeah ... I don't want to make this into a multi-part, but if enough people want me to, I will, because the **Daddy Series** has ended. So, please, in your review ( If you review ) tell me if you want a multi-part. ( As in more after this )

**Please Review!**


	6. Little Angel

**Name: **Little Angel  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genre: **Romance/Fluff  
**Summary: **Rukia experiences pregnancy and Ichigo watches.

**Authors Notes: **Hmm ... well, this is a random piece of fluff that came to me while dwelling on my baby brother. I call him my Little Angel.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Little Angel**

It had been early March when our baby had been conceived. The wind was blowing outside, and a gentle layer of snow covered the ground. She tasted like hot chocolate, I'd noted as I kissed her softly. Her eyes had slipped closed as I ran my hands down her arms, letting the dress slide off with my scarred fingers.

I remember that day clearly; there was no way I could forget it. March third ... the day that had changed both of our lives forever.

It hadn't been until April fifteenth that Rukia had found out about the baby; and, even then, she didn't tell me right away. She'd been afraid of how I would react; we'd had never even talked about, or mentioned, a baby before. What if I wasn't ready to be a father? she'd worried. But when she told me, I had hugged her and her eyes had gone wide. I repeated, over and over happily, that I was going to be a daddy. Rukia smiled brightly and kissed me before my hands ventured down to her stomach; she wasn't even beginning to show yet, but I put my ear up against her stomach and whispered once again, "I'm gonna be a daddy."

It was only a week later that trouble had began to show. Morning sickness was starting to set in, I guess, because Rukia couldn't keep any food down. Nothing; not even liquids. I took her to my dad's, because I wanted her checked out right away, not sometime early Tuesday morning; the first that the doctors office could get us in. All he did was tell us that it was normal, and that if it kept happening, however, to go see the doctor so he could give Rukia some medicine.

And it _did_ keep happening. Unable to eat, she had grown thin, more so than usual. She'd already lost about six pounds. She would throw up all morning, and then again whenever she ate something. I would just sit with her, rubbing her back gently and holding her in my arms. We were so worried she was going to lose the baby; she hadn't eaten in three days, almost four, and the little water she could manage to keep down was going toward both her and our baby's bodies, so there wasn't much for either of them. We went to the hospital.

"There are only a few mothers we see like this; almost all mothers we see have morning sickness, but none so bad that they can't eat. How many pounds did you say she's lost?"

My arms were wrapped tightly around my body; Rukia hadn't been eating for over a week now.

"Eleven."

"By now, she should be gaining weight, not losing it. She's already showing, because she is so thin. Most mothers, even small ones like your wife, Kurosaki-kun, start showing about three months. Rukia-san isn't even at two."

"Are ... are we going to lose the baby?" I asked, tears stinging in my eyes. I'd only known about me and Rukia's baby for about two weeks, but I knew that if we lost it, it would break both of our hearts.

"About ninety-nine percent of mothers we see this in lose their children. So ... probably. I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun. But you should probably tell Rukia-san ... and you should say goodbye together."

I was crying openly by that point. I didn't care who saw me. I was losing my baby before I'd even seen him. _Him_. I had a feeling it was a boy.

"Thank you."

I walked into Rukia's room and sat down beside her bed, taking her hand in mine. It was so small ... pale. I didn't understand how we hadn't already lost the baby. And then I did something I had never done before; I prayed. I begged God to spare the life of me and Rukia's baby. I begged him to _please_ let our child live.

Then, the next day, Rukia was able to keep a small amount of food down. I didn't want to get my hopes up, because an ultrasound had shown that the baby was not as big as it should be. Where the baby should have been about an inch and a half along, it was only three-fourths of an inch.

Days and days past and Rukia was beginning to gain back the weight she had lost, but the doctors wouldn't let her out of the hospital.

"We're going to do an ultrasound, alright Rukia-san?"

"What's an ultrasound?"

I watched on, sitting in a backward chair with my arms crossed over the top, smiling as Rukia watched in awe as the nurse turned on the ultrasound machine and applied some gel to Rukia's stomach. She squeaked as the cold gel hit her soft skin.

"OK, now you're about ten weeks along, right?"

Rukia nodded happily, looking at the screen as the nurse got everything into focus. When a picture of the baby came into view, she pointed a shaky finger at the screen and asked quietly, "Is that my baby?"

The nurse nodded and Rukia was instantly captured.

I couldn't help but let my smile grow as both Rukia and the nurse laughed and smiled, trying to catch pictures of the baby's feet or hands and nose. There were five tiny toes on each foot and five tiny fingers on each hand; he was beautiful, and I still hadn't squashed the idea of calling our baby a 'him'.

I was so sure.

"Ichigo, lookit! Look at his tiny foot!"

Her eyes were glowing happily as she pointed to the screen. I moved over a little closer and just stared at the screen; the baby was moving around a little, and even though Rukia couldn't feel his movements, she placed her hand on her stomach, her cheeks a light red as her violet eyes concentrated on the screen.

Rukia and the nurse, an American named Michelle, played around for nearly forty-five minutes, watching the baby move and trying to see its face. They took picture after picture with the machine; they were all black and white, and Michelle, having children of her own and having watched Rukia go through the last few hard weeks, was having as much fun as the soon-to-be-mother.

It was perfect.

When Rukia finally came home, she began to work on the photo album that she had asked for. I watched her from across the room, smiling when she stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she searched through the stack of picture she had.

"Ichigo, what do you think of this one as a cover picture?"

I walked over, sitting down beside her to see what she was doing. The photo album's first four pages were filled with pictures of the baby still inside Rukia's womb. His foot ... his hand ... nose, everything. They had really gotten some good pictures. And besides the point that she was only three months along now, the baby's tiny foot was perfectly formed. I reached out my hand and brushed my fingers over it before looking at the picture Rukia was holding up for me.

It was a picture of our baby; he was tiny, but I could make out most of his body ... he seemed complete, but we both knew that he had a while to go before he was ready to be born.

"It's perfect. What are you doing, anyway?" I asked, watching as she put the picture in the front of the album. The soft, blue picture pouch covered up the words "Kurosaki Rukia, ten weeks pregnant. May 11th" that had been printed on the picture from the machine.

"I'm making a book for our baby."

"A ... book?"

"Mm hm."

She held up the photo album for me to see. On the front, she had had the words "Before I was Born" carefully sewn. I watched her as she continued to add pictures, writing on some of them and circling things, pointing them out, before going onto the next page.

When she was four months pregnant, the naming game began.

"Hmm ... what about Evangeline for a girl?" Rukia suggested, curling back into the couch, her hand on her stomach, gently rubbing. I sat down beside her and laid my head on her shoulder, leaning down to kiss her stomach.

"But that's not a ... "

"Japanese name, I know. But it's so pretty."

"What about Kaori? Or Aiko? Or what about ... Hisana or Masaki?"

"I like Evangeline."

"You're not changing your mind, huh?" I asked, rolling my head so I was looking up into her face. She smiled and nodded, saying, "Nope. If our baby's a girl, I want to name her Evangeline."

"What about a boy?"

I would give in; I always did. Besides, I liked the name Evangeline, I had just always thought I would give my first kid a Japanese name. Guess not. When Rukia wanted something, she got it. Whether by force or just begging ... she got it.

"I like Josiah."

"Hmm ... I like it, too. Kurosaki Josiah or Kurosaki Evangeline."

"Good. Now ... can I have some cookies?"

I rolled my eyes.

It was five months by the time the baby started kicking. When he first kicked, Rukia was adding photo's to her album; we had just gotten back from the doctor, and she had a whole new batch to add. I was going through the dresser, looking for the markers, when she suddenly squeaked happily. I turned around, surprise, and dropped the markers all over the floor. Her face was glowing happily and her eyes were sparkling as I walked over. As soon as I was within grabbing range, she took my hand in hers and placed it on her stomach.

He kicked. I could feel his tiny foot against my hand as he kicked.

"Rukia ... "

I felt a huge smile coming over my face as I crawled into the bed behind her and let her lean back against me while she shuffled through her pictures. I kept my hand on her stomach, feeling our baby kick as Rukia did. He was moving around inside her body. A new life, a baby of our own. He was beautiful in every way. And now, I could feel him.

"Hey, Rukia ... what does it feel like?"

It was different for me; I was feeling him kick from the outside, but Rukia could feel him moving around in her own body.

"It feel weird, in a nice sort of way. It'll take me a while to get used to. I like it."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, me just holding her in my arms and her just looking through pictures of the baby. I watched as she took one of the markers and began to write something in the front of the book. As my eyes scanned the letters, I reached out to stop her from turning the page.

**March 3rd: **I will never forget this date, because it was the day that my little angel was conceived.  
**April 13th: **Today was the day we found out about you.  
**May 4th: **Your heart was beating four weeks ago. I smile when I listen to it.  
**May 18th: **I saw you moving today. Your feet and hands are so small ...  
**June 27th: **Today I felt you move. No kicking, I'm just sure it was you.  
**July 10th: **You kicked today.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. She kept a list of the things he had done.

"Love you, Rukia."

"Hmm ... I love you, too, Ichigo."

The months passed slowly. At six months, Rukia was already used to the baby kicking and her stomach was swelling. She grew larger and larger every day with their baby, and she loved it.

As I watched her, I knew that she would really love him. She sang to him and rubbed her stomach to sooth him when he kicked a lot. The doctor said that the more we talked to our baby, the more comfortable he would be with us when he was born. An unborn child could hear the voices of their parents months before they were born. Rukia sang to him and I talked to him. When I came home from work, I would whisper quietly to Rukia's stomach, sometimes until she even fell asleep.

Then, it got to the point to where Rukia couldn't even wash herself. She couldn't put her own shoes on or see her own feet. I had to help her in the shower because she couldn't move well. Her ankles were swollen and her stomach was so large she had trouble standing once she was down. The baby sat on her bladder a lot of the day, so she was in the bathroom often; It was the signs of a pregnancy coming to a close.

Any day now, our baby would be born.

It was two days before her due date that she went into labor. I rushed her to the hospital, and five hours after that, Kurosaki Josiah was born. The doctors had been surprised, as Rukia had refused any pain medication, and even the birth of seven pound, three ounce baby hadn't been enough to make her scream. What surprised them more, however, was that when I held her hand and whispered to her gently, she took comfort in my words and my touch.

Most first time mothers, they explained, threatened their husbands with death/pain if they ever got within ten feet of them again.

And, as I sat behind Rukia and watched as she fed our newborn baby, I smiled and whispered, "Next time, maybe it'll be a girl. We'll name her Evangeline, alright?"

Rukia nodded. "Ah."

* * *

Four years later, the baby book that Rukia had made was shown to our son, Josiah. He sat on my lap, twisting a strand of his bright orange hair in his fingers as he sucked on his knuckles, his bright violet eyes shining as he asked, "Mama, what that?"

His tiny fingers pointed to the book in her hands as she opened it to him.

"This is your baby book. Mommy has one for your baby sister, too."

"But she not born yet!" Josiah protested, laughing as he popped his fingers out of his mouth.

"Neither were you in these pictures.

"Ooooh ... "

His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open as he stared at the pictures. I smiled and kissed his head as he looked at each picture.

"Mama, does Eva look like that?"

Yeah, our baby was a girl. She was going to be born soon, the doctors said, but it was a girl. Kurosaki Evangeline.

"Yeah, she does baby," Rukia said, kissing his head.

On the front of the book, as she closed it later that night and we put our little boy to bed, the words shone in beautiful, golden colors.

_"Before I was born: Kurosaki Josiah. Our Little Angel."_

* * *

Never have I written something so ... well ... I dunno. I hoped you liked this. I had a ton of fun writing it.

**_Please Review!_**


	7. Marry Me?

**Name: **Marry Me?  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Fluff/Humor/Romance  
**Summary: **Marriage was when you spent your whole life with someone you loved. "Ooooh! Then ... can I marry Ichigo, Kurosaki-san? Because I want to spend all of my life with him!" four-year-old Rukia said loudly, her violet eyes twinkling.

**Authors Notes: **This is a random piece of fluff that came to me when my little brother asked if he could marry me.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Marry Me?**

"Ruuuukiaaaaa!"

Rukia's bright violet eyes shone as she turned around, her white, spaghetti-strap tank-top and her khaki mini-skirt flying in the wind as her eyes fell upon her small, hyper friend. The little boy was jumping up and down happily, his eyes shining as he ran over. When he jumped the last three feet and landed in front of her, he hugged her happily and said again,

"Rukia! Yay! You're here!"

Rukia's tiny feet trampled after him as he took her hand and began to haul her over to his mother; she was sitting on a light blue quilt laid out on the ground and smiling when the little boy stopped in front of her.

"Mommy! This is Rukia, the girl I was talkin' about!"

"Oh, hello, Rukia-chan!" the woman said, laughing as she ruffled her son's hair. Rukia blushed a little, her hands clasping together behind her back as she bowed slightly.

"H-Hello, Kurosaki-san."

Her light brown hair was shining in the sun as the woman smiled. The little boy who was currently bouncing up and down in front of them both, yelled, "Mommy, mommy, guess what?"

His mother gently asked, "What is it, Ichigo?" and the little boy exploded, "Mommy, I can swing all by myself, see, see?"

Ichigo ran off and over to the swings, not even waiting for his mother to answer. Masaki Kurosaki turned around to face Rukia again, who's face turned red under the woman's gaze. Her tiny feet shuffled back and forth on the ground and her violet gaze followed them. Her black hair was pulled into two messy pig-tails and her feet were covered in small, white sandals.

"Would you like me to fix your pig-tails, Rukia-chan?"

Rukia looked up in surprise to see the woman smiling, her eyes closed and her thin hands clasped tightly in her lap. Rukia nodded slowly, reaching up to twist a finger into her messy, ratty hair. She had done it herself, for her brother never did those kinds of things for her.

"Alright. Would you like to sit in my lap?"

Rukia nodded again and sat down nervously on the woman's lap. Masaki reached up and gently took the pony-tail holders out of Rukia's hair and reached inside of her bag, pulling out a light pink brush that Rukia was sure Ichigo hated whenever his mom used it on him; he hated everything pink. Maskai began to gently run the brush through Rukia's hair and her nervousness disappeared. She twiddled her fingers in her lap while her hair was being brushed out, but soon smiled. She had to brush her own hair most of the time, and she never seemed to get it right.

"Rukia-chan, where are your parents? Are you here at the park all alone?"

"I don't have parents," Rukia said, her eyes misting up with tears. Masaki turned Rukia around in her lap and gave her a gentle hug as she asked, "Then who do you live with?"

"My brother."

"Is he here?"

"No."

It was a simple answer, but it was all Masaki got, so she turned Rukia around again and continued to brush her hair.

That was when Rukia caught sight of the ring on her finger. The little girl turned so suddenly that the pig-tail that Masaki was putting in came undone. Laughing, Masaki whispered at Rukia to be still, then when she finished with the right pig-tail, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"That ring is pretty!"

Her violet eyes were wide and her tiny hands touched the ring gently. Masaki said, "It is a wedding ring. My husband gave it to me.'

"What's 'wedding'?" Rukia asked, confused.

"It's a joining of two people who want to spend all their lives together. Me and my husband, Isshin, are married."

"Ooooh! Than ... can I marry Ichigo, Kurosaki-san? Because I want to spend all of my life with him!" four-year-old Rukia said loudly, her violet eyes twinkling. Masaki laughed and turned Rukia around, beginning to work on her hair again.

"Sure? Why not."

"Yay."

Rukia sat happily until her hair was done, then hopped to her feet, hugged Masaki, thanking her, and ran off, her little arms flying out beside her as she did an airplane act while in search of her small, orange-haired friend.

Said friend was currently hiding behind a large Oak tree, gripping his quarter in his hand tightly. A determined look was on his face as he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him to the inside area of the park; he had seen those little quarter machines in there. When he arrived, he hopped over and stuck his quarter into the machine and twisting the knob a little harder than was probably necessary.

"Ah, man!"

He had gotten the wrong one. Stuffing the lizard into his pocket, he took out his last quarter and put it in the machine. Hewanted the_ ring_ one! Twisting the knob, his breath held, he watched as the little plastic ball rolled out of the machine and into his waiting hand. Yes! He'd gotten the right one.

As he ran back outside, he took the tiny, plastic ring out of the case and began his search for Rukia.

The little girl in question was pouting as she dropped back down beside Kurosaki Masaki. Thin hands were wrapped around her chest as she said, "Where did he run off to? Boys!"

Masaki raised an eyebrow as Rukia continued to pout. The frown slipped off her face, however, when she saw Ichigo running toward her. He just managed to stop before slamming into both his friend and his mother.

"Rukia, there you are!" he panted, his hands clasped tightly behind his back and his cheeks bright red. His bare feet shuffled around in the sand as he pulled the ring out from behind his back and shoved it toward Rukia.

"I want you to be my friend forever, so want ... want to get married like my mommy and daddy?"

His face was brighter than a tomato, and Masaki had to hold back a laugh as she watched Rukia, shocked, reach out to take the ring. Her eyes scanned it over, then she said, "It's plastic ... "

Ichigo went redder. He was about to protest when Rukia jumped to her tiny feet and hugged him tightly.

"Sure! Let's get married!"

Rukia put the ring on her finger then grabbed Ichigo's hand. The little boy was still bright red as she began to skip off. Masaki smiled. Her little boy had just proposed to a girl. And as she watched them, she couldn't help but have a tiny flicker of hope in her heart that one day, the ring her son put on Rukia's finger was a real one.

* * *

Aww! I had so much fun writing that. What did you think?

**_Please Review!_**


	8. Ventilation

**Name: **Ventilation  
**Rating: **T ( For the teens! )  
**Genres: **Romance/Humor  
**Summary: **Rukia and Ichigo are stuck in a small ventilation shaft. He's driving her insane with the way he's moving under her, and she was going to have to do something about it. A hot make-out session with said carrot-top was_ not_ what she had in mind.

**Author's Notes: **OK, so this is weird and I know it had been done a million times, but this one will be different. I think?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Ventilation**

Her lips were about two inches from his. If she leaned up even in the slightest, she could have kissed him and called it an accident.

"Ichigo, move over."

"I _can't_."

"Well, move anyway!" Rukia yelled, frowning in the dark. If Ichigo could see her bright, flaming red face, he would have laughed. Good thing he couldn't, but being pressed tightly up to the body of a very well-toned teenager that slept only feet away from her each night had an... _effect_ on her.

"I freakin' can't!"

Ichigo was growling, and the fact that her neck was pressed against his didn't help. The slight vibration that ran through her made her shiver. She pushed those thoughts and feelings away from her mind and closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip. Ichigo shifted under her and she felt their skin move together.

She hated summer.

Right as of this moment, she was wearing a white spaghetti tank-top and a light brown, thin skirt. There was a thin layer of sweat covering her body and as Ichigo moved under her, his rough, ratty jeans scraped against her skin and his T-shirt ruffled under her, riding up to where her arms were pressed against his hard muscles.

"Stop moving, Ichigo."

"I'm hot. It's like ... summer, dope."

"I _said_ stop moving."

Ichigo did, but only for a minute. He then began moving again, until Rukia shoved her elbow as hard as she could manage into his stomach. Though, considering she was shoved into a foot and a half by a foot and a half shaft, there wasn't much room to move. Ichigo smirked in the darkness, saying,

"So, how the hell did we get stuck in here, anyway?"

"It wasn't that long ago, don't you remember?"

"Noooo."

Rukia rolled her eyes, trying to see out the hole almost ten feet ahead of them; stuffed into the hole like they were, there was no way that they could get out. They were stuck in a ventilation shaft. Ichigo was on bottom and Rukia on top, and neither could move from their positions. Their sweat mingled together and the shaft was beginning to heat up a little more as she sun from outside beat down on it.

"Rukia, you might be a midget and all, but laying on top of me in the summer tends to get hot."

_Boy, didn't she know._

"I can't help it. It's not my fault we're in here anyway."

"Well, whose _bright_ idea was it to try and climb past me because my shirt was stuck on a nail?"

"M ... ine?"

"Jackpot, stupid. You can't crawl over someone in such a small space. You shouldn't have even been up here in the first place! I could take care of the stupid cooling system."

"No you were making it blow hot, which, I don't think, was _supposed _happen!"

"Stuff it!"

"..."

"Ichigo ... stop moving."

"Why?"

"Because ... " Rukia trailed off and blushed a little. "It just ... your moving against me in this weather ... "

"Ah, I see."

A smirk appeared on Ichigo's face as he stopped moving for a moment. Rukia had a growing sense of dread in the pit of her stomach until Ichigo's hands managed to find their way up to her bare skin. She shuddered when his rough fingers pressed to the skin of her thighs.

"Ichigo, hands off."

His smirk grew. His hands were still pressed to her skin and he could hear her breath hitch when they moved up a little, his hands brushing her skirt aside easily. Rukia bit back a moan and instead slammed her elbow into his stomach. Ichigo groaned and his hands fell idle again. Rukia breathed a sigh of relief; if he knew that she had actually been enjoying that he'd been doing, he would never let her live it down.

"What the hell was that for?" Ichigo said, trying to catch the breath that she had knocked out of him.

"I said hands off, Kurosaki."

She was glaring, and if it weren't so dark he might have shrunk enough in fear for her to get past him and _out of that hole._

They sat — laid — in silence for a few more minutes. The heat was getting terrible and she couldn't stand it anymore. It was slick on her skin and her legs were sliding against Ichigo's easily as he continued to squirm. His knee managed to hit a certain part of her upper thighs and she moaned loudly. Ichigo smirked and moved his knee again. Sweat was dripping off his bright orange hair and when he crushed his lips to Rukia's, they slid together easily as she kissed him back hungrily.

"Rukia ... "

His mouth broke away from hers for only a split second before Rukia kissed him. Her eyes slipped closed as he deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to his. She was breathing heavily, the sweat on her skin growing as Ichigo's hands moved to her hips. She squirmed on top of him.

"You taste like salt ... "

He ignored her and continued to kiss her, not caring who was below in the house and listening. He wanted more of her, he wanted to take her breath away. He couldn't seem to get enough of her as the kiss turned slightly rough as he kissed harder. Rukia moaned.

When they finally broke apart, in the dark, Ichigo couldn't see the hazy look in her violet eyes or see the hungry need, either. Her lips were gently swollen and her heart was beating fast in her chest. His heart was beating just as fast and his senses were tingling. She kissed him again, her hot mouth hungry on his. He devoured her lips without a word, and when she pulled back this time, she asked, "This won't just disappear in the night ... right?"

"What?" Ichigo forced to get his breath back under control as he stared into Rukia's face. "The fact that ... that I love you?"

Rukia's violet gaze held happiness as she looked down at him.

"Yeah. That."

"Nope."

He kissed her again, his hands gripping her hips tightly, as if she were trying to get away from him.

"Good."

Below them, in the room, sat Yoruichi and Urahara. The latter of the two was waving his fan over his face. "Boy is it hot in here," he complained, his eyes completely hidden by the shadow of his green and white hat.

"It was your idea to stick them up there, genius," Yoruichi said, rolling her eyes.

"Well ... it worked, didn't it?"

Yoruichi smirked and reached over to kick him.

"Yeah, but I think Ichigo is going to be luckier than you in_ that_ particular category."

"Huh? Which one?"

"The one where he gets laid tonight and you don't."

"Yoruichiiiii," Urahara whined, pouting. Yoruichi's smirk grew as she stood up, stretching herself in a way that seemed feline. Urahara yelled, "Oh, by the way, Kurosaki! I think we fixed the air conditioning!"

"You're an ass!" Ichigo yelled from above. "I hate you!"

Urahara smirked. After Ichigo's outburst, there was no more talking, and the blond man had no doubt that Ichigo would indeed be getting more than him that night.

* * *

I have NO CLUE why I wrote that. **O.O**

**_Please Review!_**


	9. Alphabet III

**Name: **Alphabet Soup III  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Romance/Humor  
**Summary: **Squads and babies. Ichigo is assigned a squad and Rukia observes as her child grows inside of her.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Alphabet Soup III — Squad Trouble**

"What crawled up your butt and died?"

Ichigo turned around so fast that his head spun on his shoulders. He sent a glare that could have melted an iceberg at the red-head standing behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned deeper, now shifting his gaze to the ground.

"Byakuya-freaking-Kuchiki has decided that I need to stay here in Soul Society and has decided to stick me in one of the thirteen squads. I'm waiting to find out which one. I think he's trying to put me on his squad because he wants to kill me."

"Ah ... why does he want to kill ya?"

"How do I know? Maybe because me and Rukia are havin' a kid. I don't know why he's so pissed 'bout it, though. I mean ... it's like ... _natural_. He also might want to kill me because me and Rukia are getting married in two weeks."

"He hates you, is all."

"Thanks. That makes me feel _tons_ better."

Renji laughed at Ichigo's pout and leaned up against the wall, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. He began to speak and Ichigo raised his eyebrows, half-turning his gaze toward the other man.

"Might not have seemed like it before, but I'm happy for you guys, really. I did love Rukia once upon a time, but she loves you, and you love her ... and I was standing in the way of that. Besides ... there's this new blonde girl on the sixth squad ... "

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"But seriously, man, best of luck to you. I've dealt with PMS Rukia before, but I never ever want to deal with a pregnant, hormonal Rukia. You're going to need all the help, emotional and physical, that you can get."

Ichigo groaned, rolling his eyes toward the sky.

"Please, don't remind me. I've already got a small dose of it, and I think I'm going AWOL in about three months."

Renji laughed and the two men stood in silence for the next while until a small, nervous looking girl came out of the main building, holding out a small envelop to Ichigo, squeaking something, and jumping off. Ichigo raised his eyebrows and took it from her, fingering the top but not opening it. Whatever was in the envelope would decide his future and basically decide his fate. If it was sixth squad, he was going to die before he got to see his kid.

Which was_ not_ going to be named Byakuya.

Taking a deep breath, he opened it.

Then, the breath was let out happily.

"Thirteenth, huh? That's Rukia's squad," Renji commented, reading over Ichigo's shoulder.

Ichigo's amber eyes were closed in relief as he slumped against the wall. "Can't be too bad, huh? I've seen her captain a few times. Ukitake-san isn't half bad. At least I think I'll live to see the baby."

"By the way ... why are you naming the kid Byakuya if it's a boy?"

"How in the hell did you find out about that?" Ichigo asked, his gaze sharp as it cut into Renji. Said red-head shrugged.

"Rukia was walking around whining about it. I never imagined it would be _you_ who wanted to name the kid after her brother, so there has to be _some_ rational explanation for this."

Ichigo shook his head. "There is, I just don't feel like discussing it. Basically, some freaking family ... _thing_ is going to make us name our son, _if_ it is a son, after Byakuya. I want a girl ... " Ichigo whined, letting his head drop against the wall again. Renji smirked and slapped Ichigo on the back.

"Well, I'm confident you'll work it all out."

"Where are you going?"

"Paperwork I've been putting off for two months ... "

Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he began walking off in the opposite direction as Renji; he had a squad to get to know. Boy, this wasn't going to be fun. It would be about as fun as feeding your fingers to a rattlesnake. Yeeeah ...

When he arrived, there was two squabbling people at the door, one yelling loudly and one shrill; both looked like they were fighting for the attention of the white-haired man in the middle of the room. Reaching his fist out, Ichigo knocked on the door once, then twice, until the two people stopped squabbling and turned around. Ukitake smiled at him.

"Kurosaki-kun, hello."

"Hi, Ukitake-san. Um ... did you get the message yet?"

"Yes."

"Ah, well ... um ... " Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and breathed out, looking finally at the floor.

"Welcome to the thirteenth squad, Kurosaki-kun!" the young girl said. "I'm Kotetsu Kiyone!"

"H-Hello ... "

"I'm Kotsubaki Sentarō" the man chimed in, walking up and bowing. Ichigo looked surprised as he walked further inside. Ukitake smiled and waved him over.

"So ... what exactly do I do here?"

"Well, you were placed on fifth seat, and in time, you might move up, but for now ... mostly missions, probably to Earth, and paperwork."

"Joy."

* * *

"Well, I'm happy to say you're moving along fine. At four months, your baby is as big as he should be and you're taking care of yourself just fine." Unohana smiled and Rukia nodded happily, her hand pressing to her swelling stomach. Her baby was growing; she was now showing without mistake, and it being summer meant thinner clothing and more people knowing.

"Ah. Thank you, Unohana-san."

"But I would like you to take some vitamins just because it'll help the baby. You're past your first three months, which are the main time for a possible miscarriage, so you're in for the long-haul."

"I know. I'm happy about this."

"I can tell. How is Ichigo taking it?"

"Huh? Oh, well he's ecstatic. Can the baby really hear him when he talks for hours on end?"

The look on Rukia's face suggested that she hoped not, so she could tell Ichigo to stuff it. Unohana laughed gently.

"Maybe, maybe not. It's good he's taking such an interest in the baby, though."

"I know. It's fun. He's hoping for a girl though, he really doesn't want to name his first baby after my brother. I think it's because they never really got along. I don't think Ichigo had really ever let Nii-sama go about not fighting for me when I was on death row."

"Probably. I don't know that I could, in his position, either. Anyway, you are free to leave now."

"Thanks. I have to meet Ichigo soon, so I should be leaving soon," Rukia said, taking the small bottle of vitamins that Unohana offered her and listening while the doctor explained how she was to take them. Rukia nodded, understanding, then walked out her hand laid on her stomach. The bottle went into her pocket and her eyes glowed in the afternoon light. Her hair blew around her as the wind flowed through her body and she smiled.

Her small feet carried her across the soft ground, and she just kept walking, not sure where she was going. She just wanted to be outside.

"Oi, Rukia!"

Rukia turned around to see Renji walking up to her, smirking. She waved and grinned.

"Renji, what are you doing here?"

"Avoiding paperwork. I'm surprised your brother hasn't killed me yet. How did your appointment go?"

"Not really an appointment, Renji. I just went to talk with Unohana-san to ask her something, and she decided to check things out. Our real appointment is in three days."

"Oh, right."

They were launched into an awkward silence while Rukia just stared at the ground and absently rubbed her stomach. She finally began speaking. "Renji, when did we stop being friends like we used to?"

"We neve-"

"Yes, we did. We never even talk much more. I hate it. Can't we be friends again, Renji, please?"

Her violet eyes met his and they were soft and questioning. Renji shrugged, nodding. "Sure, Rukia. 'Course we can be friends. But ... I think we'll have to work on it. I barely even know you anymore. I wish we had never fallen apart, Rukia, because I ... " Renji paused. "Because I still loved you back then, and if we hadn't fallen apart, could it possibly be me you loved?"

"I did love you Renji, once. And if I had never met Ichigo ... I still might. But, even though he's rash and stupid when he's trying to protect someone, I still love him, and he holds my heart, Renji."

Renji smiled.

"He holds more than your heart, Rukia."

"Huh?"

He had confused her again. A questioning look was on her face as he reached out and touched her stomach gently. She looked down, surprised, as his large fingers ran over the swollen skin through the fabric of her robes. She smiled and hugged him, then pulling back, she said, "Thanks, Renji."

"I didn't do anything, but I'll always be here for you, you know."

"I know, Renji. And thank you for _that_. And, on another note, where in the world is Ichigo?"

"Thirteenth squad office. I think ... he might already be gone."

"I'll go check. Bye Renji!"

"C'ya, Rukia."

Rukia walked off happily, and Renji shook his head. Two idiots in love, and another idiot on the way. He really hoped that Ichigo and Rukia's kid turned out alright. With parents like that, you never knew.

* * *

"Ichigo, where in the world have you been?"

Hands were on her hips and her lips were set in a firm line as Rukia glared at Ichigo, who was standing in their doorway. His bright amber eyes were wide and he box he was holding in his hands almost dropped; she'd surprised him. Smiling, he walked over and sat down on the bed beside her, rubbing her stomach before handing her the box. After she had taken it from her hands, he laid his head near her stomach and said,

"Uh oh. Mommy is mad, huh? Daddy was only gone for a while."

Rukia smirked and twisted her fingers in Ichigo's hair as she opened the box with the other hand.

"Maybe mommy will like the necklace daddy got her."

Rukia smiled as she fingered the necklace in the box; it was on a complete silver chain, and the small, diamond teardrop that hung in the middle glinted off of the sun.

"Am I forgiven?" Ichigo asked, reaching up and kissing her on the cheek. Rukia nodded.

"Alright. Thanks, Ichigo."

"You're welcome."

Rukia gave Ichigo a kick to the shin and he winced.

"What was that for?" he asked, frowning as she handed him the necklace to put on her.

"_That_ was for coming home late."

"Hey! I was only late because I was gettin' you this," Ichigo whined, clipping it around her thin neck. Rukia smiled. She said slowly, "I know," and then kissed him. "That's your reward."

"That's all?"

Another kick.

* * *

Hmm ... insanity. But I felt like I needed to tell what squad Ichigo got and then fix up Renji and Rukia's relationship so he could be in this series without being a bad guy.

**_Please Review!_**


	10. Sketching Love

**Name: **Sketching Love  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Romance/Fluff  
**Summary: **Rukia experiments with finger paints, and then she asks Ichigo how to draw a picture of love.

**Author's Notes: **Happy Valentine's Day!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Sketching Love**

Rukia's eyes were slightly wide as she stared at the colorful tubes laid out on the table. Her fingers danced over them as she turned her gaze to the paper that had been spread out. Yuzu smiled widely at her, then grabbed Ichigo by the arm, hauling him back to the table.

"Come on, Ichi-nii! Show Rukia-chan what finger paints are!"

Yuzu was bouncing up and down happily and her eyes were glowing as Ichigo pouted. Rukia reached out and grabbed one of the tubes, squishing it between her fingers. Frowning when nothing happened, she pressed harder and harder. She closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she pressed as hard as she could on the blue tube. Suddenly, as the tube exploded everywhere, her eyes snapped open and Ichigo screamed.

Once the shock had passed, Rukia looked over to see Ichigo with a bright blue splatter over his forehead. Reaching up, Rukia began to spread the paint around, smirking.

"Ah. So _this_ is what finger painting is. It's fun."

Yuzu smiled as she handed Ichigo a towel. Ichigo grabbed it and began to wipe the washable, thank God, finger paint of his head.

"So that's how you open them. Can I open more?" Rukia asked, reaching out to grab the red.

"No!"

Ichigo's amber eyes were wide as he grabbed the tube from her. Taking her hand in his, he put her fingers on the cap and showed her how to take it off. Her mouth formed a small 'O' as the top slid off easily in her hand.

"That is how you take it off, dope."

"Can I paint now?" Rukia asked, impatient as she sat down. Yuzu sat down beside her and eagerly showed her how to spread the colors around on the paper without mixing them too badly, and soon, Rukia had finished a painting of a bunny.

"What do you think, Ichigo?" she asked, holding it up for his inspection.

"It's ugly. And it's _pink_."

She clobbered him over the head, forgetting for a moment that Yuzu was in the room.

"Don't do that, it hurts, stupid!" Ichigo yelled, pouting.

"You could be nicer," Rukia snapped, sitting down. She made it a point not to meet Ichigo's eyes as she took out a fresh piece of paper. Yuzu, they noticed, had left the room, screaming loudly about something burning in the oven. Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he sat down beside the short, feisty Shinigami again. He took his own paper and began swift, sure strokes with his fingers across the paper.

Rukia sneaked a glance at him while she was sure he wasn't looking, then she turned back to her paper; he didn't even care. Her small, slim fingers began to form the different shapes as she frowned, trying to get the picture of a flower right. It wasn't working; her colors were mixing.

"Here, like this."

Rukia's eyes went wide as Ichigo reached over her shoulder, taking her hand gently into hers and holding two of her fingers apart with his own. Violet eyes scanned the new paper that Ichigo had put in front of her as he pressed her fingers into the paint and then to the paper. His fingers moved swiftly; as if he had done this a lot before. And with little sisters, she didn't doubt that he had.

"You don't press so hard. Your fingers are stiff; you need to let them relax. If they're stiff, they don't move so easily, and you end up mixing your colors."

His voice was soft in her ear, and he sighed.

"And ... well, I guess I shouldn't have said that about your bunny. It was your first drawing, after all."

"Ah. You're forgiven."

Ichigo smiled and continued to show her how to draw the flower, and when they had finished, she smiled brightly and jumped up to go show it to Yuzu. Ichigo leaned up against the wall and sighed, letting his chin drop to his chest. He heard Rukia and Yuzu's quiet voices through the wall, and when Rukia came back in she smiled before sitting down. Then, frowning, she turned around and asked quietly,

"Ichigo, how ... how do I sketch a picture of love? I-I mean, f-for Valentine's Day, for school ..." Rukia stuttered, face red.

Ichigo was completely silent, his hands stuffed in his pockets as his mind flew a million miles an hour.

"Ichigo?"

"I ... I don't know ... " he said slowly, not quite ready to give up on the thought. He took his hands from his pockets and pulled himself from the wall as he walked over and sat down beside Rukia. She watched on in surprise as he took the tube of light blue paint in his hand, and still frowning in concentration, he began to slowly squirt it over his hand. When there was a nice sized lump in his hand, he began to slowly spread it around. It covered his whole palm and fingers soon, and he reached out, pressing it to the fresh piece of paper that was laid out in front of Rukia.

"Let me see your hand."

Rukia put her hand in Ichigo's once he had cleaned the paint from his fingers and he took it gently in his before he grabbed the dark blue paint. His fingers gently danced over hers as he spread the paint, and when he was done, he took her hand in his and pressed it to the paper beside his print. When she pulled her fingers away, she smiled. The paint spread slightly, melding their prints together.

"Now _that's _a finger painting," Ichigo said, the towel caressing Rukia's skin as he washed the paint off of her.

"Can I do something to it?" Rukia's voice was low and soft. Ichigo nodded, leaning back in his chair as he watched her.

Her fingers carefully created a small, red heart in the top corner. It was sketchy and slightly messy, but Ichigo smirked.

"Ya. I like it."

"Me, too."

Rukia's hand reached down to grip his hand in hers, but when she realized what she had done, she turned bright red. Ichigo smirked and closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair as Yuzu walked back in. Rukia let go of his hand as Yuzu's bright eyes caught sight of the picture.

"Oooh, Rukia-chan! I like it!"

"I do, too, Yuzu," Rukia said, fighting the blush. "I really like it."

Her handprint was so small compared to Ichigo's, but the paint that melded them together seemed to make it whole.

The drawing disappeared only a day later, and wasn't mentioned again until she was shuffling through one of Ichigo's History books. She found it, in perfect condition, pressed with a light blue rose stuck to it; the paint had dried with the rose and it, too, was bonded to the picture. And, on the top, in slightly messy writing inside the light red heart, Ichigo's writing said,

"A sketch of love."

* * *

I knooooow, most people are going to yell, "What in the _world_? They are OO'freakin'C!" ... But who cares? I liked it. Just pure, sweet fluff. Flame away! I'll ignore you ...

**_Please Review!_**


	11. Duck Trouble

**Name: **Duck Trouble  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genre: **Romance/Fluff  
**Summary:** "Rukia, get back here!" It was too much like when, eight years ago, it had been him running down to the river. But she'd be alright ... because he was there to catch her if she fell.

**Authors Notes: **This came to me while my little brother was talking _non-stop_ about a baby duck he had seen today.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Duck Trouble**

Rukia was walking along silently beside Ichigo, her arms clasped behind her light blue sweater. Her khaki skirt swirled around her knees and the beautiful flower patterns seemed to shine in the snow. A soft smile graced her lips and a sparkle was in her eyes as she looked across the vast horizon; the sun was setting, and the different colors made the snow seem to glow. Ichigo, who was beside her, was wearing a simple black sweater and jeans. His shoes crunched in the snow as he walked along, his gaze on the ground and his hands stuffed deep in his pockets.

Rukia turned her head around and around, trying to take in her surroundings; she hadn't seen snow before. She loved it. It was beautiful. The tiny, unique flakes drifted down from the sky and landed softly on her face. It felt strangely cold when it would land on her, but she loved how her shoes pushed gently through the white powder.

Closing her eyes, she stuck her tongue out and let the snow land on it.

"Ah ... what the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow as he pulled his tall body out of its slouch. He'd grown taller than he was when he'd been fifteen; he was now 6'1", pretty much towering over Rukia. She looked up at him and smiled, her pink tongue still sticking out.

"I'm catching the snow."

"On your _tongue_?"

"Uh huh. It tastes good."

"Riiight."

Ichigo went back to ignoring her, but a minute later, curious and, making sure she wasn't looking, he stuck his own tongue and let the snow land on it. Yup. She was insane. It tasted like water.

Rukia continued to skip along until her bright violet eyes caught sight of something. She pulled her hands from behind her back as she began running down to the frozen river.

Ichigo's eyes went wide as he watched her take off. He cursed under his breath and began to run after her, yelling, "Rukia, get back here!" It was too much like when ... eight years ago, when he was nine, it had been him running down to the river. "Rukia!"

Rukia slid to a stop on top of the ice and frowned, reaching her foot out to press on the solid water. Nothing happened and she jumped onto it, running over to the middle. Ichigo stopped himself before he got all the way there; Rukia was small enough so the ice supported her, but what about him? Biting his lip, he watched her as she walked across, intent on getting to her target. Her arms were spread out around her like an airplane and her feet were constantly sliding to the side on the slick ice. Ichigo bit his lip harder.

"Rukia!"

"Shh, Ichigo, you'll scare it."

'It' turned out to be a tiny, baby duck, who had its foot stuck in the frozen water. As Rukia bent down beside it, it quacked softly, like baby ducks did, and tried to flap away. But because its foot was frozen into the pond, he couldn't move. Rukia reached out and gently ran her hand down his soft body.

"Shhh, little guy. I'll get you out of here," she said quietly, her voice not above a whisper. With her free hand, she began to probe at the ice.

Ichigo, tired of doing nothing, reached into his pocket and gripped his Shinigami License tightly. He flew out of his body and onto the ice, and before he could stop himself, he fell flat onto it. Rukia turned around and glared at him.

"Stupid! You trying to break the ice? And _why_ are you in Shinigami form?"

"So I _won't _break the ice."

"How will being in Shinigami form help?"

"I dunno, I just seem to weigh less when I'm a Shingami. And do you want me to help you with that or not?"

Rukia looked down at the ice she was picking away at; nothing had happened except her fingers had gone bright red from the cold. The ice was still solid except for the places she had been able to scratch at it. Sighing, she nodded, still petting the duck as Ichigo walked over and leaned down beside her, taking a rock from nearby and beginning to scrape at the ice.

"Thanks, Ichigo."

"Welcome."

Neither said anything else until the baby duck was free. The second he was, he began to run away from them and Rukia pouted.

"Hey! Come back!"

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes as he watched her begin to chase after the duck. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched the show as she began to slip; she wasn't in any danger, there was snow everywhere surrounding them. The duck, which had a little more traction on the ice with his tiny, webbed feet, was ahead of Rukia until said little Shinigami slipped on the ice, her feet falling out from under her. Bight violet eyes wide, she fell to the ice with a thump and began to slide across it on her backside.

Smirking, she reached out and grabbed the duck as she passed by it, and was too busy cuddling him to realize that she was about to smack into the snow. Too late.

Ichigo winced as she hit, back first, into the large pile of snow. It flew all over her, mixing with her hair and landing all over her face. The duck was quacking a little, but seemed to have calmed down as Ichigo walked over and offered his hand to Rukia. She accepted it once she was past the shock and stood to her feet, beginning to shake snow from her clothes. Ichigo put a hand in her hair and shook it all around; snow flew from it and landed all around them.

"Thanks. I think. Oh, and by the way, _Ichi_, your body is probably freezing to death."

"Ah, crap!"

Ichigo ran back to his body, slipping and sliding the whole way, and finally got back inside as Rukia walked off the ice. In her hands, she still held the baby duck.

"C'mon, Rukia, you have to let it go," Ichigo said, frowning at her.

"Why? His parents are gone. He's all alone. I don't want him to be alone."

Ichigo sighed. She'd been alone at one point, too, he knew; that was why she'd been to anxious to help the baby duck.

"Rukiaaa ... "

"Please, Ichigo?"

Now, she was pouting. Her lip was stuck out almost half an inch and she had made her violet eyes as wide as possible. The fact that her cheeks were bright red from the cold didn't help, and Ichigo caved in less than two seconds.

"_Fine_."

"Yay!"

"But you take care of it, alright? And tell my family that it was your idea, not mine."

Rukia didn't even hear him. She had skipped ahead of him, cuddling her duck as she walked. Ichigo shook his head and sighed. The sun was going down as they walked along, in no hurry to go anywhere, just happy to be outside, and with each other.

Neither had any idea that there were two people watching them, either. One pushed his green and white hat lower over his face so the snow would avoid him and the other laughed. The first man said, "He's a lot like you, you know."

"He's my son, what do you expect?"

"Nothing less."

"Yeah ... And he went and fell in love ... with the girl who made the rain in his heart stop falling."

* * *

Hmm ... so what do you think? Hmm? Did you like? Hate? Despise? And Rukia is NOT OOC, to my knowledge. I think she would be all sweet with a ducky like she would with bunny. If you think she is OOC, flame away. I will ignore you.

**_Please Review!_**


	12. Alphabet IV

**Name: **Alphabet Soup IV — Midnight Mission  
**Rating: **PG  
**Description: **Midnight cravings was something that Ichigo thought people lied about. But ... then Rukia sends Ichigo on a mission: To get her strawberries in the middle of the night.

**Author's Notes: **Rukia is 5 months pregnant in this one. I didn't skip the wedding. Just read to find out. It was the end of **August **in part III, and it is the beginning of **October** in this one, so there was a one month skip. She was 4 months pregnant then, and 5 now.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

* * *

**Alphabet Soup IV — Midnight Mission**

"Ichigo, I want strawberries."

Ichigo groaned and rolled over in his and Rukia's bed, opening one eye to stare at her. She was wide awake and sitting up in bed, her hands folded over her stomach and her violet eyes blinking innocently at him. When he closed his eyes, groaned, and rolled over again, she reached out and began to poke his bare chest.

"Ichiiiii ... "

Pulling himself half up, he stared sleepily at her face.

"Hu ... ?"

"Strawberries," Rukia was more forceful this time and Ichigo sat up, crossing his legs in his lap and using the soft cotton of his pajama pants to curl his freezing toes inside of. It was October, and one of the coldest nights yet.

"Now?"

"Yes?"

"That a question or statement?" Ichigo asked, yawning deeply. Rukia sat back in bed, her sock clad feet coming out to kick him. It was half-hearted, and Ichigo barely felt it as Rukia curled her arms inside her pink pajamas.

"Now!"

"Fine, fine."

Ichigo pulled himself, half-asleep, from the bed and groaned as he pulled on a black, tight sweater. Rukia smiled and curled under the blankets on his side of the bed. He rolled his eyes as she poked the very top of her head out from the blanket; only enough to stare at him as he pulled on his shirt. Leaning over on the bed, he kissed her forehead as he sighed.

"The things I do for you."

She smiled and covered her whole head under the blanket as he walked out of the room.

He jumped out of the nearest window and hugged his arms tightly to himself as the wind hit against him. It. Was. Cold... Rukia. Would. Be. Dead. If. She. Weren't. Pregnant.

His whole body was shivering as his bare feet padded against the grass.

Where the hell was he supposed to find strawberries at this time of night? It was midnight, for goodness sake! Well, at least this was better than the onions in her ice cream she had asked for last week. Or not. _Those_ had been in the house. Strawberries _were not_. Byakuya never ate strawberries, and Ichigo was pretty sure he knew why.

"So, care to share why the wedding hasn't taken place yet?"

Ichigo jumped out of his skin as he turned around to see Renji smirking at him.

"Care to tell _what the hell_ you're doing out at this time of night?"

"Hmm ... nope. Wedding?" Renji prodded. Ichigo shivered.

"It was put off another few weeks because Rukia was feeling real bad there for a while. I think it's about twelve days until the wedding. Why do you care?"

"No reason, just my captain wouldn't tell me until I finished my paperwork. Blackmail."

"Renji?"

"Huh?"

"You suck."

Ichigo walked off without another word and Renji followed him, his hands stuffed deeply in his pockets as Ichigo shivered beside him.

"What are you doing out at this time of night?"

This time, the question was directed toward Ichigo.

"Strawberries. Rukia want's _strawberries_."

"Ah. I see."

Silence.

"I see? That's it?"

"Yup."

More silence.

"Renji, where can I find strawberries at this time of night?"

"I haven't a clue."

"Will you help me?"

"Why not?"

The two men walked in silence for a while until they reached the market. All the shops were closed. Go figure. Ichigo sighed and wrapped his arms more tightly around his body all the while complaining about his cold feet.

"So whatever happened to going AWOL?" Renji asked. "That still the plan?"

"Was up until the moment that me and Rukia's wedding was pushed up. Can't go missing until that's over."

"Ah."

Silence.

"Renji?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there anywhere to buy shoes around here?"

"Why the hell didn't you wear any?"

"Because Rukia soaked them last night when she dumped a bucket of water on me."

Renji sighed and Ichigo glared. Renji said, "What did you do to piss her off this time?"

"Nothing!"

"..."

"Fine, fine. She asked if she was fat ... and c'mon! What kind of answer did she expect? She's five months pregnant, for goodness sake!"

Renji sighed and shook his head as they continued to walk along. When they noticed that there was not one shop that was open, or that carried strawberries at that time of night, Renji sighed, saying something under his breath that Ichigo missed completely.

"Huh? Say again?"

"I said, pee-brain, that there is this one place somewhere about ten miles from here that is open all night."

"How do you know about it?" Ichigo asked, trying to avoid saying, 'Let's go.'

"Hmm ... I've lived here for about ... lemme see, one hundred years? I tend to know my way around."

"_Fine_. Let's just get this over with."

* * *

Two hours and ten minutes later, Ichigo climbed quietly back into the window with the prized strawberries, in a small box, clasped tightly in his hand. He landed on the floor and welcomed the soft carpet on his feezing feet as he looked over toward the bed.

Rukia was curled into a tiny ball on his side of the bed, the blankets covering everything except her soft, black hair and her two small, thin hands as her fingers grasped the thick quilt. Ichigo smiled as he walked over and sat down beside her, gently running his hand down her back.

"Hey, Rukia, you awake?"

Rukia rolled over and stretched, smiling sleepily up at him as she yawned, her hands above her head and her bright violet eyes drowsy and sleepy.

"Hey, I got your strawberries."

Rukia sat up and took them as he handed her the box.

"Thanks, Ichi."

"Hey, since when did I become Ichi?" he asked, frowning as he climbed over on her side of the bed; she liked to sleep on his side often for some reason, but he never complained.

"Mmm ... I dunno."

She offered him a strawberry and he took he, nibbling on it as she put the rest of them beside the bed and curled up beside him.

"The baby kicked."

"What?!" Ichigo asked, his eyes, the strawberry falling out of his grasp. Rukia smiled and nodded, reaching up to grab his hand. She placed it on her stomach and said, "She'll kick again."

"She?"

"Easier than 'the baby'," Rukia explained, closing her eyes as Ichigo's hand gently caressed her soft skin. When the baby did kick, his eyes lit up happily and he forgot about his frozen feet. Rukia smiled as she began to drift off to sleep.

Ichigo laid down beside her and she curled close. His hand was still on her stomach and hers was on top of his as they fell asleep together.

"By the way, the strawberries taste weird."

Ichigo groaned.

"Demanding woman."

The baby kicked again against Ichigo's hand; she didn't want to be ignored, either.

"You didn't like the strawberries either, huh?" Ichigo asked Rukia's stomach. Rukia smirked.

"Nope. She says daddy sucks."

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Thanks."

* * *

Useless ... fluff ... stupidity ... What did you think? I had a lot of fun writing this.

**NOTE: **Boy or girl? I will be taking all name suggestions, too.

**_Please Review!_**


	13. Just Like Daddy

**Name: **Just Like Daddy  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary:** Little Kurosaki Ichigo, Jr. has a talk with his uncle about 'the birds and the bees' ... OK, well, mostly about mommy and daddy, and why he was staying at Uncle Byakuya's because they needed a night _alone_.

**Author's Notes: **Hmm ... nothing ... well, this came to me while I was in school. Sad, huh?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

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**Just Like Daddy**

"Uncle Bya-kun, why couldn't I go with mommy and daddy?" the little boy asked, frowning as he twirled a lock of orange hair in his fingers. His bright violet eyes were questioning as he stared up at his uncle, who had been elected to baby-sit the little boy.

"They need some time alone."

"Why do they gots to be alone? I like being with mommy and daddy. Daddy tells me stories and mommy lets me sleeps with her and daddy when I'm scared. I want ma baby bunny ... "

His eyes were sad, and Byakuya knew that if he didn't do something soon, Kurosaki Ichigo, Jr, would break out crying.

"..."

"I want mommy!"

Big tears began to slowly make their way down Ichigo Jr.'s face and Byakuya sighed; what was he going to do?

Tiny, three-year-old hands clasped tightly at the stuffed teddy that the little boy had brought with him. His bare feet kicked back and forth slowly on the hard chair that he had been set upon, and his missing teeth showed clearly; his small mouth was open as he cried.

"Ichi, come here," Byakuya said, patting the couch beside him. Little feet jumped to the floor and padded over to where he climbed up onto the couch, his teddy and blanket still clasped in his grasp.

"I want mommy and daddy," he said, sticking his thumb in his mouth as he blinked tears out of his eyes.

"I know you do, but your father and mother ... needed to be alone. They wouldn't have left if they knew that you would cry, but you were fine this morning."

"I wasn't sad this mornin'," Ichigo Jr. pointed out.

Byakuya didn't know quite what to do; he'd been around children before, of course, because Hisana liked to play with the children in the village when she had been with him, but he didn't know how to comfort one, and when said child looked so much like the man he wanted to hate, he couldn't hug him like his instincts told him to; it would feel _so_ wrong.

"Why do they needs ta be alone?" Ichigo Jr. asked, a curious look on his face as he snuggled close to his uncle; Byakuya looked surprised at this action, but let the child do as he pleased. He was sure that Ichigo let him do that at home, and it seemed to comfort Ichigo Jr., so he would let him.

"Well, they're ... adults ... and ... "

How did he explain this? Oh, boy, his sister was going to kill him if Ichigo Jr. came home yapping about _alone time_.

"Are they gonna get kissy and stuff?" he asked, sticking out his tongue and sighing.

"Do they usually?"

"Only when they thinks I'm not watchin'."

"Oh ... "

Silence came over them again until Ichigo Jr. asked, again, "Well, _are they_?"

"Are they ... what?"

"Gonna get kissy and stuff!"

There was a tired sigh in the question, and when Ichigo Jr. rolled his eyes, Byakuya was sure that he'd been spending way too much time with his father.

"Maybe ... ?"

"You're hopeless."

Byakuya raised his eyebrows; well, at least the little kid wasn't crying anymore. Silence followed, and Byakuya was beginning to believe that Ichigo Jr. was asleep when he chirped,

"What are the birds and the bees?"

Byakuya coughed.

"Um ... well, it's an expression used when parents are explaining a ... _certain_ subject to their _older_ children." He was hoping that Ichigo Jr. got the message.

"Tell me!"

But of course he hadn't. What son of that bone-head Ichigo could _anyone_ have gotten such a clear message across to?

"It's how babies are made."

"Like me? I was a baby, too, once, mommy said."

"You were tiny, like your mother. A tiny little baby." Byakuya almost smiled at the memory of holding his nephew for the first time. His hands had been so small, and his tiny feet had kicked back and forth strongly. Violet eyes proclaimed him as the son of Rukia, and the loud, orange hair had been given to him from his father.

Byakuya had actually smiled at that point in time; it had only been the naming of the perfect little boy ... well, in his opinion, perfect _minus_ the orange hair and almost picture-perfect copy of Kurosaki Ichigo, that had ripped the smile from his face.

_"I want to name him Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo, Jr."_

When his sister had uttered those nine words, he had frowned and protested.

"Uncle Bya-kun!" Ichigo Jr. yelled, bouncing up and down on the couch happily. Byakuya was torn from his thoughts.

"Are mommy and daddy making a baby?"

Byakuya's eyes were wide as he turned to face the completely innocent look of the small child in front of him.

"Ah ... "

"Cause I asked mommy for a baby sissy for Christmas. She just smiled and told me she'd try. What's that mean?"

"Ah ... "

"Does daddy help her make the baby? Do they buy it and put it together?"

"Ah ... "

Ichigo Jr. interrupted again.

"Then how would it get in mommy's tummy? Ma friend has a baby sissy, and she lived in her mommy's tummy for a while, too."

"Yes, your daddy would help make the baby."

"How?"

Oh, those bright, innocent eyes again.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Ah, man!"

He was pouting now. His light pink lip was stuck out as far as he could manage as his violet eyes began to droop a little; as much as he fought sleep, it was nearing eleven at night, and all little boys needed sleep.

"Can I help make a baby!?"

"No!"

"Oh ... "

Byakuya sighed and stood up from the couch, tucking Ichigo Jr. under the blanket he had curled into only minutes before. He said, "Go to sleep now. Your mother will be mad at us both if you're too tired to walk tomorrow."

"All right ... "

The sudden excitement had died down in only seconds; a child could be bouncing one second and sleeping the next. Ichigo Jr. was sleeping soon and Byakuya sighed in relief. Sleepy words were forced out of his lips before he completely fell into dreamland, and Byakuya smiled at them.

"I love mommy and daddy and Uncle Bya-kun."

Byakuya shook his head as he walked out of the back room and into his office again; surprisingly, Renji was sitting there, doing paperwork. He was smirking; he had heard everything.

"How is he?"

"He's just like his father."

Another smirk.

"But really ... why _did_ Ichigo and Rukia need a night alone?"

Byakuya glared and Renji shut up.

* * *

LOL. I had _way_ too much fun writing that.

**_Please Review!_**


	14. Prelude to a Kiss

**Name: **Prelude To A Kiss  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary:** I had knocked her into the river. Covered in water, her dress hung tightly around her body. I was laughing, and the next thing I knew, I was in beside her. And why in the world did she want me to catch her a duck?

**Author's Notes: **Hmm ... I was noted by a reviewer that, _appearently_, a scene (Or more?) in this is similiar to a scene in The Simpsons. I have NEVER watched that show, I did not copy it!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

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**Prelude To A Kiss**

She was beautiful. But ... as soon as I had that thought, I squashed it and mentally slapped myself.

She was skipping only a few feet ahead of me, excited for some unknown reason that might have had to do with big, white and fluffy bunnies. Her hair was curly today, a trick of Yuzu's, and most of it was clipped on top of her head, only small, soft ringlets falling out to frame her pale face perfectly.

I sighed and stuffed my hands in my pockets, all the while wondering why in the world she had decided to wear that new summer dress on _this_ day. Her small feet were bare and her thin hands were clasped behind her back. The hot summer sun beat down on them, and as she skipped along, sweat had begun to cling to her arms.

"Oi, Rukia!'

"Hmm?" She turned around and blinked wide, bright violet eyes.

"Just ... nothing." I shook my head. I didn't even know why I'd called her name.

She sighed. "Dope."

I frowned and continued to follow her. We were supposed to me meeting my dad somewhere because ... well, I'd forgotten somewhere along 5th street. But it had something to do with a 'family outing'.

Running a little to catch up with Rukia, I sighed again.

We were late.

"Ichigo, what are those?"

I looked up and to where she was pointing. We were walking by the river in the park, only a little way away from where we were meeting my family. I scanned the water and my eyes fell upon a small, quacking animal in the water.

"It's a duck, idiot."

"Oooh."

She leaned down beside the water, her short, pink dress sliding up a little. Her hands were gripping her knees, and her bare toes were digging in the dirt as she leaned further forward, trying to see the ducks better.

"Catch me one."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Come again?"

"Catch. Me. One. Slow enough for you?"

I growled. There was no way in _hell_ that I was going to catch her a duck. Nope. None. I was not, repeat _was not_, going to jump in the water and catch her a freakin' duck.

"Stuff it. No ducks."

"Fine. I'll get one myself."

"Fine. Get one."

"I will!"

She still did nothing. She, instead, sat on the edge of the river bank, biting her lip and staring intently at the water, as if believing that a duck would come and hug her.

I smirked. She was positioned _just _right ...

Shrugging, and preparing for the verbal abuse I would receive now, and the physical later, I reached my foot out and placed it gently on her back, giving her a small push. Her slim body couldn't put up much of a fight, so, with a screech, her bright violet eyes going wide, she fell into the water with an ungraceful 'plop'.

She surfaced and glared at me, her hair dripping water. The curls were still in place; I was sure they'd stay in for days, though she was probably pissed that I had messed up her hair; she and Yuzu had worked on it for hours.

I felt kinda bad, but my laughter wouldn't stop.

Soo ... I had knocked her into the river. Covered in water, her dress hung tightly around her body. I was laughing, and the next thing I knew, I was in beside her.

"Freakin' Rukia! Now _both_ of us are soaked! Why the hell did you pull me in?"

"You pushed me in first!"

"So what? You were the one who wanted the duck!"

We glared at each other, earning several weird looks from people passing by. I sighed and ran a hand through my soggy hair; there was some kind of wet, squishy weed in my hand when I pulled it from my head.

I shuddered and flicked it off.

"Duck." Rukia's glare softened a little as she began to wade in the water. Her feet pushed against the muddy ground as she walked toward the duck.

I followed.

I don't know _why _I followed, I just did.

I would have liked it is she would sink to the bottom of the ocean and _die_.

OK, well, maybe not ...

"Rukia?"

"What?" she snapped, frowning as the duck that she had been so close to catching slipped out of her grasp.

"The duck _hates_ you. The duck _will not_ let it catch you ... " I paused.

Something was wrong with what I had just said.

"I don't want _it_ to catch _me_," Rukia said, laughing. "Dope. _I _want to catch _it_."

"That's what I meant!"

Finally, after chasing the duck around for nearly five minutes, which I found _highly_ amusing, she stopped and sighed, coming back to me. I was now sitting up on the river bank, trying in vain to squeeze water out of my socks.

"Done?" I asked, hoping to death that she was.

"I'm done. I couldn't catch it."

She was pouting as she began to ring out her dress. I looked away as she jumped up on the bank beside me; the dress was short enough as it was _without_ her pulling it up to get water out of it.

"Rukia?"

"What?"

Boy, she was snappy.

"..."

"Darn it! When you say my name, have something else to say, or you might end up back in the water!"

Oooh, moody.

"Fine."

We were silent while I squished my shoes back on. Rukia seemed mad for some reason; I didn't know why.

"Um ... yeah, sorry 'bout messin' up your hair and stuff ... "

I trailed off and looked down at the ducks in the water.

We were late to meet my family ...

"I worked forever on it," Rukia complained, shaking her hair a little; more curly ringlets fell down to frame her face. I took a deep breath in. If I didn't make up for what I had done, she wouldn't speak to me for weeks, most likely. I could try something drastic ... or just let her be pissed or ...

... She looked so cute with her soaked, stringy hair around her face ...

Nope. Not havin' those kinds of thoughts.

But I was. However, in my defense, what normal teenage boy didn't have those thoughts? But Rukia was different.

... Right?

"Hey ... "

Nope. Speaking wasn't working.

What was that stupid quote that my dad always said? Um ... oh, yeah!

Actions speak louder than words.

Heck, might as well try. She probably wouldn't speak to me for weeks, anyway, no matter what I did.

So ... I leaned in and kissed her. Right there, on the river bank with only the ducks and the random kid playing ghost busters to witness it. When I pulled back, Rukia didn't look shocked or pissed like I had expected her to. Instead, her bright violet eyes had slipped closed and her breathing was soft.

"Wha ... what did you ... "

Her slim fingers reached up to touch her light pink lips and I smiled. Well ... she hadn't killed me. Yet?

She smirked and I felt as if something _terrible _was going to happen.

She said, "Well, to make it up to me for messing up my hair ... catch me a duck."

Before I could protest, I was in the water again. My soggy shoes became drenched and I sighed as she flicked random pieces of grass at me.

At least she hadn't said anything about the kiss. If she hadn't liked it, she would have made it _very_ clear to me that she hadn't. In fact, the way she was smiling at me now, it seemed ... as if she _had _liked it.

Catch a duck, huh?

Whatever.

* * *

Ever tried to catch a duck? I have. Doesn't work. LOL. Whatcha think? Hate it, love it, am I going to receive any letter bombs? Personally, my favorite line was this: (And it was a mistake that _I_ actually made! I just kept it in because I liked it ...)

"The duck _hates_ you. The duck _will not_ let it catch you ... " I paused.

_**Please Review!**_


	15. Love Quiz

**Name: **Online  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **Rukia has a moment alone on Ichigo's laptop and finds an online romance quiz that will, it says, pair her up with the love of her life. How ... did she get paired with Kurosaki Ichigo?

**Author's Notes: **Hmm ...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to** CrystalRaindrop007** for Beta'ing!

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**Online**

"There is no way _in hell_ that I am taking some stupid love quiz!"

Bright amber eyes flared as they stared into violet ones. His arms were crossed over his chest. Her legs were folded beneath her small body and her thin hands were pressed tightly together in her lap. She glared and he glared back.

"No way!"

The words were out of his mouth before hers even finished opening to beg again. She frowned.

"Ichigo! C'mon!"

"_Why_!?"

"Because you need a life?"

"Ha! And _you_ don't?"

"No, I'm not taking it. I won't be here on Earth long enough for it to matter."

"Rukia ... "

"Yes?"

"Go dig a hole and _die_ in it."

Ichigo glared harder as Rukia set the laptop in his lap. He continued to glare at her as she wiggled her toes and smiled. He sighed, finally letting his gaze drop to the screen Rukia had pulled up.

She didn't care if he needed a life or not.

This was just the weeks version of 'Let's drive Ichigo _insane_.'

"If I said no again, what would you do?"

"Oh, lemme see."

Rukia paused and tapped her chin with her fingers, the light shining off her lightly painted nails.

"I would enter it for you, put your name, age and sex on it, then I would answer all the questions completely wrong, and completely ruin your social life."

"I thought so."

Pause ...

"Not doing it."

Rukia grinned and took the laptop from Ichigo and began typing with speed that he was sure she hadn't learned in Soul Society.

Wait ...

Exactly how many of these quizzes had she submitted in his name?!

Ichigo snatched the laptop back so quick that Rukia's eyes went wide and her fingers paused in mid-air. Her mouth was gaping as he began to quickly undo all the information she had typed in.

"If I don't do it myself, you won't let it drop, huh?"

"Nope," she said happily, grinning. It wasn't an _I'm-so-cute-hug-me_ grin, it was a _I-am-soo-totally-going-to-ruin-you_ grin.

"_Fine_!"

Growling under his breath, Ichigo began to type his name and personal information in; he'd rather have to do this and do it right then let Rukia loose on it. When he finished, still growling, he handed Rukia back the laptop after submitting his profile and walked off into the bathroom, saying he was going to take a shower, and slammed the door so hard that Rukia winced, sure it was going to fall off its hinges.

Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to pester him so much?

Nah. She'd had fun.

Shrugging, she began to prowl around on the website she had gotten from Inoue and smiled when she found her friend's profile. So, Inoue _had_ signed up. Laughing, she looked at the list of Inoue's likes and dislikes, and was sure her friend had turned away _many_ people, who had come prowling because of her profile _picture_, who saw what kind of food she liked to cook.

"I wonder ... "

Smirking, Rukia clicked on the 'sign up' button and bit her lip, wondering if she really should.

"Why not?"

She began to type, and once she had attached a picture of herself to the submission, why did Ichigo have that picture or her, anyway? she entered it and was sent to her new profile page.

Her mouse was only inches away from the 'log off' button when she noticed the option to 'Pair me up with the love of my life'.

She clicked.

"Oh, this is gonna be good."

After answering a few questions, both from Ichigo, who was in the shower and _very _afraid of what she was doing, and some questions from the site, she waited for her answer.

_Searching ... Searching ... Searching ..._

The questions had been pretty hard to answer; she wouldn't doubt that whoever it came up with would be someone good, or like her, or who she would get alone with. But then again, she'd never even so much as e-mail the person, let alone talk to them in person.

Finally, the screen popped up and Rukia eagerly read the words that appeared to her.

"This man will be the love of your life ... blah, blah, blah ... If you are not totally satisfied with your love life after this ... blah, blah, blah ... oh, just tell me _who_ already!"

She was trying to ignore the fact that she was excited about who this man was. Of course, she would _never_ actually meet him, she would make sure, but who did this stupid site tell her that she would be "totally satisfied" with?

"An e-mail has also been sent to the man you have been paired with ... _what_!?" Her eyes were wide. This was _not _what she had wanted! "Ah, crap!"

Then, she read the name.

"..."

She gaped.

"_No way_!"

Then, a smile slowly started to spread over her face. No ... she would shut the computer down quietly and let Ichigo wake up in the morning with an e-mail that said that_ she_ was his perfect mate.

_That_ was something she wanted to see. She would have to remember to wake up early to be sure to catch him when he checked his e-mail in the morning.

"Rukia, what the _hell _are you doin' in there?" Ichigo yelled from behind the closed bathroom door.

Rukia squeaked from surprise and fell onto the floor with a loud thump. Smirking, she shut the computer down and said, "Getting ready for bed, dope!"

"Good. Off the computer!"

"I'm off."

Her smirk grew as she climbed into her closet.

Ooh, yes. This was _really_ going to be good.

* * *

Random insanity. I had a lot of fun writing this, though. LOL. Yay for random insanity!

**_Please Review!_**


	16. Whole Heart

**Name: **Whole Heart  
**Rating: **PG  
**Genres: **Romance/Drama  
**Summary: **You can only save her if you believe with your whole heart. You can only protect her if you believe in yourself ... and if you love her, with your whole heart.

**Author's Notes: **Hmm ... Part of the introduction of this chapter was quoted, but the part about loving her was by me.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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**Whole Heart**

_Can I really gain that power? Can I?_

Ichigo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. His eyes drifted to the closed closet door; Rukia was sleeping behind it again. She'd gotten scared in his sisters' room and had asked to sleep in his closet again. No matter what he'd said, she had just shoved past him and closed herself inside without a word.

_Of course you can. If you want to save Rukia with your _whole heart_, you have inside you a will as strong as iron._

He shuffled through the pages of his book and sighed again. Why did he tell her no in the first place? He'd seen fear in her eyes; why had he tried to turn her away? She never showed fear. What had caused her to act like that? What was wrong? Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo dropped back onto his bed and clasped his hands behind his head, staring up into the ceiling, his eyes wandering and making out the same patterns he'd been seeing since he was small.

"What's wrong, Rukia?" he asked himself quietly, his eyes turning to the closet again. He could hear her shuffling around a little; maybe she was awake?

No, probably not.

_With your whole heart ..._

What did that mean, anyway? It'd been bothering him for some time now. His whole heart?

When he was little, he'd always thought that he wanted to protect his mom with all of his heart ... was this the same? His name, Ichigo, meant 'One Protector' ... but, now that he'd failed with his mother, who did he want to protect? The answer seemed simple; he wanted to protect _everyone_. But it had been different with his mom. He'd wanted to protect her more than anything in the world. More than anyone, because he'd _loved_ her more than anything or anyone.

But ... who now?

His eyes strayed to the closed closet door again, and, shaking his head, he turned away.

"I-Ichigo?"

He hadn't realized until that moment that Rukia had climbed out of the closet and was sitting on the edge of his bed. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her chest and her legs were folded up in her lap as her violet eyes met his. Her body was glistening lightly with sweat as she bit her lip, turning her gaze down.

"Rukia? Are you alright?" Ichigo asked, sitting up and reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder; he stopped and put it back down at his side, however, and frowned a little.

"Are you leaving again?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, clasping his hands in his lap as he tried to look into Rukia's eyes; they were filled with pain, fear, but most of all, they were filled with hope. "You mean, like I left to train with those Visord guys?"

"Yes."

"Ah, then no, I don't think so."

"Thank you."

What was wrong with her? She was _never_ like this.

"I had nightmares, Ichigo," Rukia started. She paused and looked up into his face for the first time that night.

Ichigo didn't speak; she seemed to be finally opening up a little to him, and he wanted to hear it.

"While you were gone, I had nightmares of that ... that _thing_ taking control of you, and that ... that I would have to-to hurt you ... "

She trailed off again and Ichigo finally reached his hand out to touch her shoulder gently. She flinched and bit her lip.

_With your whole heart ..._

"I ... years ago, there was another man that I was close to. H-he ... he was possessed by a h-hollow, and I ... I was forced to ... _kill him_," Rukia paused and took a deep, shuddering breath as her gaze dropped. Ichigo had a look of horror in his eyes as his hand dropped from Rukia's shoulder; it was shaking. "He ... was one of my commanding officers... His wife, she was killed and he went after the hollow that killed her. I ... I was there, while he was fighting, and it-it took over him. I killed him, Ichigo, I _killed_ him ... and what if you ... "

Ichigo cut her off, placing his hand on her shoulder again and staring deeply into her eyes.

"Look at me Rukia."

She avoided his gaze, turning it to the quilt on the bed.

"_Look_ at me."

She did, though her eyes were still filled with anguish.

"I don't want to kill you, Ichigo ... "

"Rukia, look at me ... you_ won't_, I will _never_ let him out when I can't control him. I can do that now; when he's out, I have control. I promise, I _swear,_ you will never have to hurt me."

The look in Ichigo's eyes was so sure ... she wanted nothing more than to believe him. But ... how could she? Kaien ... she had seen. He hadn't been able to do anything. Nothing, to what had been done to him. He couldn't prevent the hollow from taking over him and she couldn't stop what she had done. He had forced himself down on her blade, and there was nothing that either of them could have done. What could Ichigo do? Could he prevent it?

"Rukia ... please, believe me."

"Can I?"

_With your whole heart ..._

"I'll protect you with everything I have, Rukia. I'll never let anything hurt you, and _I'll _never hurt you."

_With your whole heart ..._

"Promise?"

"I swear."

"Thank you, Ichigo."

They were silent for a few moments, just sitting there, nothing spoken between them until Ichigo reached out and took her hand softly into his. "Are you OK now?"

"I think so," she said slowly. "Should ... should I go back to your sister's room?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

Rukia smiled and nodded, standing to her feet and clasping her hands behind her back. She gave Ichigo a gentle kiss on the cheek before walking quickly back to the closet and hopping inside. Ichigo smirked, his fingers dancing over his face.

_With my whole heart, Rukia, I will always save you. I'll protect you with everything I have ... and I'll give my life for you. One Protector ... I couldn't save her, my mom, but I swear I will not fail this time. Because I love you with my whole heart._

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Hmm ... whatcha think? I've had this burried in my computer for three months while wondering again and again if I should post it. I was worried about lots of things ... just please leave your opinions. Should I have just left it to gather dust in the back of my computer? Hmm?

**_Please Review!_**


	17. Bubble Trouble

**Name: **Bubble Gum  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **I'm innocent in all this, I swear. I have NO idea how I got my nose stuck to hers, or how she ended up digging in her bra, trying to remove my Strawberry bubble gum. Yup. I'm _completely_ innocent.

**Author's Notes: **I love bubble gum!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters. Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007** for beta'ing!

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**Bubble Gum**

"Oooh!"

Ichigo sighed. Whenever a happy, "Oooh!" came from Rukia's small pink lips, it usually wasn't good.

"I want some, Ichigo!" she announced happily, grinning. He raised an eyebrow at this; she never grinned unless it was that stupid school-girl grin, or unless she had put something into his shoes, like ... say ... a _spider_? Thankfully, he'd only found a spider in his shoe once. The other time it had been a large glop of glue, and he was sure _that_ was payback for his comment on her drawings.

He sighed again and lazily followed her gaze toward the direction in which she was pointing. When he realized that she was asking for, the first words out of his mouth were,

"Not in a million years, midget."

She frowned and kicked him.

"But I want-"

"No."

"Please?"

"I _cannot_ believe you just said 'please' to me." Which was followed by another foot in the shin and yet another, "Ouch."

"I want some!"

"Why do you want freakin' bubble gum?" Ichigo asked, closing his amber eyes and leaning back on the grass. One knee was bent up and the other was flat on the ground, his arms behind his head as the sun reflected on his face. Rukia was sitting beside him, and everything had been peaceful until she had spotted the small child blowing huge bubbles.

"Bubble gun?" Rukia asked, confused.

"No, baka, bubble _gum_, not _gun_."

"Ooh."

Silence ...

"So ... can I have some?"

Ichigo groaned in annoyance and sat up, reaching into his pocket and handing Rukia a dollar bill; it would save him a lot of pain and annoyance to just let her get the stupid candy.

"Shoo, go get some bubble gum and _leave me alone_."

She jumped up, the dollar clutched in her hand, and walked away. Ichigo smiled and went back to relaxing in the sun. It lasted all of two minutes until Rukia came back and poked him in the chest, asking, "So, what do I do with this 'Bubble gun'?"

"_Gum_."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Here, stick it in your mouth," Ichigo instructed, sitting up with yet another sigh. Rukia did as she was told, and began chewing while Ichigo frowned at the 'Strawberry' label.

"What now?" Rukia asked, continuing to chew as Ichigo looked up again.

"Blow a bubble."

"How?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"I don't know! Blow air into it or something!"

Ichigo sat and watched, in slight amusement, it must be admitted, as Rukia struggled with the bubble gum. She did everything_ but_ blow a bubble. She blew it out of her mouth, she swallowed it, and she even managed to get some stuck on her nose. He didn't, of course, tell her about it.

"Ichigo! Help me!"

Ichigo laughed as he took a piece of bubble gum and popped it into his own mouth. After chewing it for a few seconds, he began to show Rukia how to blow a bubble. She watched in awe, and as soon as Ichigo's bubble had popped and the gum was back in his mouth, she tried.

But then again, when considering Rukia and Ichigo, nothing goes according to plan. And as such, no bubble came out. Instead, the bubble gum went flying out of her mouth ...

... straight onto Ichigo's nose.

Amber eyes blinked in annoyance and Rukia laughed, pointing to the slimy, pink blob stuck to Ichigo's nose. He reached up to try and remove it, but Rukia slapped his hand away, instead leaning forward to pull it off herself.

"I already have your nose _slime_ on my bubble gun, I don't need your dirty hands on it, too."

Ichigo sighed in defeat and watched as Rukia went about the task of removing gum from his nose. About halfway through, though, she uttered quietly, "Uh oh."

That had to be a _bad_ sign.

"What happened?"

He almost didn't want to know.

"I think my nose is stuck to yours."

Ichigo sat back quickly, and surely enough, when he did, a long line of pink bubble gum stretched from his nose to Rukia's.

"Rukia, I hate you!" Ichigo growled, reaching forward to begin removing the sticky substance.

Rukia began twitching, and every time she did, Ichigo would growl at her to stay still, for the bubble gum had somehow managed to get into her hair, too.

"Ichigo ... I have something in my bra!" Rukia informed him frantically. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Nice, Rukia. Real nice of you to share that with half the world. Keep your voice down!"

"I think it's your bubble gun."

"Huh?"

Ichigo frowned as he searched his mouth with his tongue, trying to find the strawberry bubble gum. Nothing. He smirked and said, "Oops. Just ... get it out."

"It's got your slime on it ... "

"Shut up, and just get it out!"

Rukia began to shuffle around in her shirt, and Ichigo turned away, though he didn't move back for fear of the self-minded bubble gum finding its way into _his_ hair, too.

"It's stuck. Help me," Rukia said, no paying much attention to the light blush that spread across Ichigo's face.

"No!"

If anyone had walked past at that moment, they would have laughed. Ichigo was in such a position that he looked like he was staring down Rukia's shirt, and said midget was digging in her bra, her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth. Bubble gum was trailing from Rukia's bangs to Ichigo's nose, and it looked like the strawberry mass was planning to take over the world.

"Ah, ha! I got it!" Rukia said happily, pulling the bubble gum from her shirt. "Though some of it is still on my bra ... "

"Rukia!" Ichigo growled, "Stuff it!"

She smirked as he continued to try and dis-tangle the gum from them without getting any more hair stuck in its evil grasp. When he finally removed it with minimal damage to Rukia's soft, black hair, he sighed in relief and threw it as far as he could manage.

"There. Done. Now, it's time to go home."

"Alright!" Rukia agreed, standing to her feet and brushing out her light brown skirt. As they began walking off, the bubble gum still in Rukia's hand, Ichigo cast a glance back at the place they'd been sitting, hidden, under the large oak tree.

Crap! His jacket!

Turning around and telling Rukia to wait a second, he ran back. Almost halfway there, his bare foot caught on the bubble gum that he thought he'd ridden himself of forever, and he fell face forward into the grass. Rukia broke out laughing as Ichigo grumbled very colorful words under his breath.

As Ichigo tried to pick himself up off the ground, Rukia informed him, "Ichigo, you have bubble gun in your hair."

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Random fluff, huh? Insanity? I had fun with this part: _Bubble gum was trailing from Rukia's bangs to Ichigo's nose, and it looked like the strawberry mass was planning to take over the world._ XD

**_Please Review!_**


	18. 7 Hours in Heaven

**_Sorry!_ I**t's been randomly sending me alerts for this even when I **haven't** updated! Sorry if you got more than 1 alert for this chapter!

**Name: **7 Hours In Heaven  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **Forget that saying 'I do' to the wrong person on your wedding day would be the worst mistake of your life; saying 'yes' to Rukia when she asked me to play '7 Minutes in Heaven' is the worst thing I have _ever_ done.

**Author's Notes:** This came to me when I played Seven Minutes In Heaven with several friends, and got stuck in the closet with my boyfriend for seven hours when they deserted us.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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**7 Hours In Heaven**

She looked like a cuddly bunny.

No, more like an evil bunny. A semi-evil bunny? Well, either way, she was growling at me. And _that_ was a bad sign. Her violet eyes seemed illuminated in the darkness and her small hands were beginning to impatiently tap a hole in the wall as she glared.

"Um ... _why _are you glaring at me, Rukia?" I asked, sighing as she continued to tap.

"Because I hate you."

I rolled my eyes; she somehow saw it in the darkness and reached out to kick me. I bit back a rude response, realizing that it might not be such a good idea when I was stuck in a five by five foot room with the little devil.

"Why do you hate me? It was _your_ freaking idea to play the game in the first place!" I yelled, frustrated, as she shifted her position again. Her knees were pressed against mine and her small, cold feet were pressed to my legs.

"You said it was seven _minutes_, not five. Freaking. _Hours_."

"Six," I corrected, sighing and folding my hands against my chest. She muttered something very colorful under her breath as I hit my head back against the wall.

I was going to kill someone when I got out of here. But for now, I had to live with the cold feet in my legs, the bucket digging into my elbow, and the mop I was sitting on. Which was wet, by the way. My butt was cold.

"Ichigo, who do you think it was that had this oh-so-great master plan to stuff me and you in here, leave us alone, and never come back?" Rukia asked, sighing as she shifted on top of the box she was currently sitting on.

"I think it was Ishida and Inoue."

"Inoue-san? Come on. It couldn't have been her; she's not that kind of person."

"Hey, did you see the look on their faces when they shoved us in here?" I asked, my eyebrows raising.

"Well ... yes, but that-"

"It was them. Well, them or my dad and sister."

"Which sister?"

I shrugged and sighed yet again. "I dunno. Probably Yuzu. Karin doesn't care. But I still think it was Ishida and Inoue."

"Hmm ... "

"What?"

The tone of her voice made me shiver. It was that I-am-_so-_totally-going-to-kill-you tone of voice. Whenever she used it, things were bad. Very bad. And this time was no different.

"Payback time. As soon as we get out of here, that is."

"What sort of payback did you have in mind?"

Rukia didn't answer me and I leaned my head back against the wall, trying to move my butt off the soaking mop—who in the world put them back in the closet wet, anyway?—to no avail.

This was going to be a long day, I could tell. Now, if we were at my house, it might be different, because someone is always around. But no, we were in school. Inoue had hauled us all together, with the help of Rukia, who had been the one to force me into playing, right after school. There was no time to go home and change, either; so I was strangely thankful for the lack of light—Rukia had complained several times about her skirt riding up.

"Rukia, your silence scares me," I commented, wondering what kind of evil thoughts were running through her little head.

"Stuff it, Strawberry."

I smirked as she tried to find a more comfortable position. Again. Why couldn't she just hold still?

I reached out, picked her up, and set her straight in front of the door to where she wasn't sitting on top of anything. She blinked her eyes a few times and finally nodded.

"Thanks. That piece of wood and my butt didn't get along too well."

Once again, I was glad for the darkness as a small blush scattered across my cheeks. I really didn't need to know if her butt got along with anything.

We sat still for a second, but her body was now right next to mine and it was making it seem hotter in the small space than it really was. Body heat, and all that. She was shifting around again, but this time, I was pretty sure, it was from boredom.

"Sit still, will ya?"

"Fine."

Silence fell over us again as she leaned her head tiredly on my shoulder. I smirked down at her. She seemed a little uncomfortable sitting so close to me, but hey, wasn't my fault we were stuffed so ungracefully in here.

"Hey, Rukia?"

"Hn?"

"Is it really such a bad thing that we're stuck in here?"

"Of _course_ it is. Why would you say something so stupid?"

"I dunno. I just ... well, I don't mind it really. Except for the wet mop under me, that is. You've been avoiding me for some reason lately, and it's nice to spend some time together. But to be fair, I'd rather be fighting Hollows together than stuffed in a tiny closet."

"I've been avoiding you? Why you ask? Lemme see ... maybe it had something to do with you pushing my into the lake last week? I still haven't forgiven you, you know."

"Ah. I know."

"Well, I guess I don't mind being in here," Rukia said slowly. "As long as you _never_ shove me into the lake again!"

I smirked and nodded.

"Whatever, baka."

"Good, dope."

And our relationship was back to normal with only those simple words. Maybe instead of killing Ishida and Inoue when I got out of here, I'd thank them. Or not.

Rukia sighed and began switching positions again. She was trying to stand on her knees to move over, I think, but she must have slipped on the edge of the wet mop that I was still sitting on, because the next thing I knew, she shrieked loudly and fell forward.

Our lips were only connected for a few seconds, and in those few seconds, my heart was beating madly. I blamed it on surprise.

Yeah, sure.

Rukia pulled back and blinked a few times.

"Uh ..."

"That was ... uh ... " I stuttered, searching for the right word.

"It was ... it was an accident," Rukia protested, blushing a little as she sat back down, trying not to slip again.

"Right. An accident."

So why did I feel a little disappointed?

Determined to speak my mind, I said, "Hey, Rukia-"

But I suddenly went silent; I heard someone. Rukia had heard, too, it seemed, because she suddenly jerked her head to the side and stopped moving. Soon, our combined yelling and pounding on the door seemed to have caught the attention of whoever was on the other side of the closet. The door suddenly opened and Rukia fell out; she'd been leaning against it for support.

"Oof!" she informed everyone.

Her voice echoed throughout the empty halls as she looked up into the smiling eyes of the janitor. I climbed up, trying to hide my soaking butt, and walked out, stretching my legs and arms.

"What are you two kids doin' locked up in the closet on a Friday night?" There was a teasing touch to the man's voice as he smiled down at them. I would have called him at least fifty-years-old and at least six feet tall.

"Our friends locked us up."

"Huh. Some friends!"

The old man laughed and, beginning to whistle, he walked off. I began to stomp out of the school, too, frankly not caring if Rukia was following me or not.

"I swear, I'm going to kill him," I growled as I rubbed my sore, wet bottom. Rukia pulled herself off of the floor and followed behind me. Forget thanking them, that had only been a momentary lapse of insanity.

"Who are you going to kill?" Rukia questioned.

"Someone whom I will not name but who's initals are _Ishida Uryuu_!" I fumed. Rukia raised her eyebrows at me as I opened the door and stalked out into the setting sun.

"So, um, how long were we in there?" she asked, running to catch up with me. I looked down at my watch. I also noted that she was ignoring what we both knew had happened. She'd kissed me.

"Six hours and forty-nine minutes," I said.

"Seven hours in heaven."

Maybe she wasn't ignoring what had happened, after all.

With those words and a tiny smile, Rukia skipped off ahead of me and into the sunset. Her arms were clasped behind her back, and there was a slight skip to her step as she grinned at me.

Maybe saying yes to her when she bugged me _hadn't _been such a bad idea after all.

But then again, my wet butt begged to differ.

* * *

Huh. Weird.

**NOTE**: I have had a few people asking me to continue the Alphabet Series, who else wants me to? _(Crikets chirp) _Well, I will if people want me to.

**_Please Review!_**


	19. Operation: Panties

**Name: **Opetation: Underwear  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **Ichigo had always guessed it was something like that, though he'd never tell anyone, but he always knew deep down that Rukia wore chappy underwear. As for the strawberry patterns on the others ...

**Author's Notes: **I have no clue why I wrote this down...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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**Operation: Underwear**

"Truth or dare? The truth is Kurosaki, do you love Kuchiki-san?"

"Dare."

The word was out of Ichigo's mouth before he even realized that, in saying 'dare', he'd pretty much told everyone his answer. Ishdia smirked at him, Renji raised an eyebrow, and Chad did nothing. Ishida, the one to have thought up the question in the first place, contemplated what kind of torture that he was going to make Ichigo endure.

"Fine. Kurosaki, your dare is to... go through Kuchiki-san's underwear drawer and to _prove_ you actually did it, you have to photograph at least three different designs."

"Eh ... excuse me? I have to do _what_?" Ichigo sputtered, a small blush scattering across his cheeks.

"You chose dare. You either do this, or you do a double dare, and _that_ will involve physical contact with someone you'd rather not be close to."

Ichigo glared and Ishida stared right back. Neither spoke until Ichigo sighed, saying slowly, with a groan and a frown, "Do you plan on providing the camera? Because Rukia used up the disposable one I got her, and that was the only camera anyone in my house owned."

"Sure."

It was less than half an hour later that Orihime was happily leading Rukia out of the Kurosaki house on that promised to be an interesting trip to the store.

Ichigo held the camera in his hands and glared at it as if it was the cause of all of his pain and suffering.

"I hate you," he informed the object. And, just as he was about to walk into his house on the mission of death, Ishida called from the yard,

"If you can manage strawberry designs, you only have to take two pictures!"

Ichigo threw the nearest stick at the the young Qunicy as he walked inside and slammed the door loudly.

He stomped up the stairs and walked inside the room that Rukia shared with Yuzu and Karin and glared at the dresser as if had caused him grievous harm.

"I hate you, too."

Opening the drawers, he began his quest for underwear. Shirts; nope. Skirts; nope. Socks, warmer, but still a big nope.

Then, he opened the next drawer and raised his eyebrow and took a deep breath. Grabbing the nearest long, thin object, a pencil, he reached into the drawer and picked up one of the pairs. "She's gonna kill me, you know," he stated mater-of-factly to the bunny print underwear that he was holding in front of him.

The bunnies were _staring_ at him.

Taking another deep breath, he shuffled through the drawer, and his eyebrows rose even more when he saw what lay at the bottom. He reached in, trying at all costs to avoid all the bunny underwear, and picked up the small object.

It was one of those tiny, key-chain notebooks that you could write about five words on one page with.

"Huh," Ichigo said slowly, reaching over to un-clip the clasp. He opened to the first page, and not to his surprise, he found drawings of bunnies on them. An amused look was on his face as he flipped the page. More drawings, and even more after that.

When he reached the last page, he felt himself smile as he saw two bunnies simply drawn on the paper; one had dark raven hair and the other had bright orange. The caption at the top said: "He's a pain in the ass, but I think I might love him."

The words were tiny, and he had to struggle to read them, but when he had, he felt a grin spread across his face as he placed it back in its original spot.

He didn't even seem to mind as he finished photographing, and, even though he _had_ found strawberry print, he took three pictures like Ishida had told him.

However, he failed to notice as the door to the room slammed open. He jumped in surprise and blinked a few times as he stared into the very angry face of Kuchiki Rukia.

"Kurosaki Ichigo! I'm going to _kill_ you!"

And with a grin still on his face, he ran for his life.

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Random, bash-your-head-against-the-wall kind of story, huh? Please, please, please tell em what you think. I hope you like, because I wrote this while baby-sitting instead of WIYH—I have writers block on that one.

**_Please Review!_**


	20. Squish Thy Love

**Name: **Squish Thy Love  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **When Rukia proclaimed her love for the little roach whom she had named Renji, Ichigo glared at it. When she turned her back, he picked up his shoe and squished it without mercy.  
**  
Author's Notes: **I thought this up while watching a roach climb the wall beside me. Our new house has roaches. Due to Jabe's Asthma, though, we can't bug bomb the place until we can arrange for the little ones to stay at Grandma's for the weekend.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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**Squish Thy Love**

Ichigo was watching Rukia watch the little bug that was crawling on her arm.

It was gross.

Well, on the bright side, at least she hadn't started making out with the bug she was currently giving the googly-eyed-look that she saved for Chappy. Ichigo sighed and tried to get her attention again. She completely ignored him, as if he wasn't only two feet away from her snapping his fingers and yelling.

He was losing to a bug. And not only a bug...

... a _roach_.

Shivering, he stood to his feet and walked over, dropping down in front of her. She grinned and looked up at him, finally acknowledging his existence.

"Oh, hi, Ichigo! I named him Renji!"

Ichigl glared at the bug. Oh, well. He'd had a _rabbit _named after him. The little, disgusting roach fit the name Renji, anyway.

"Rukia, why the hell did you _name _the roach?"

"Because he'd cute! I love him!"

Ichigo ground his teeth together, trying to remain calm. Rukia had named the bug Renji. No big deal. However, when she proclaimed her love to said roach, _named after Renji_, he didn't like it. He stood to his feet and turned his back on her. She just stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're just jealous."

"Am not," Ichigo protested. Rukia ignored him and began to talk to the roach again. It was playing with her, and, unlike all the roaches Ichigo had begged to sit still so he could kill, it wasn't running away.

He watched Rukia watch the roach that was watching him. Dropping down onto the floor beside Rukia again, Ichigo let a large breath out as Rukia grinned up at him.

"Rukia, why the hell are you playing with a roach? They're gross!"

"No they're not. They're kinda cute, actually."

"Humph."

Silence...

"Why did you name him Renji?" Ichigo asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him. Rukia looked up and seemed deep in thought for a minute as she bit her lip and twirled her fingers in her hair.

"Because I named the bunny Strawberry. And because Renji is my best friend."

"What about me?"

Rukia sighed and shook her head as she stood to her feet. She picked the roach gently off of her shoulder and put it on the table.

"And how do you know it's even a boy?"

She didn't answer that one as she walked over to Ichigo's door. He followed her, intent on getting answers. As she slipped out, she said, "If you _touch_ Renji Jr, I'll kill you."

"Renji _Jr._?!" Ichigo fumed.

Rukia reached back and gave him a soft kick before bouncing down the stairs, probably to help his sisters with lunch. Sighing, Ichigo walked back into his room and wasn't at all surprised to see Renji... _no_, the _roach_, still sitting on the table. He dropped down into the chair beside his desk and growled at the roach.

"I hate you."

No response, although, to be fair, Ichigo wasn't quite stupid enough to expect one.

"I really hate you. I hate you more than the real Renji. Or not." He paused and sighed. "Does Rukia really love him?"

More silence from the roach. It just stood there, as if glued to the spot, and waved it whiskers—As Ichigo had so kindly dubbed them—at the orange-haired boy in front of him.

"Fine. Don't answer me."

Ichigo stared at the roach and sighed. "Well, she can love the real Renji if she likes, because he's so far away, and after all, she _chose_ to stay behind with _me_, but as for you, you little pest..."

Ichigo trailed off and reached down, taking his shoe off. "I've always hated roaches, and besides, they scare Yuzu. _I_ love Rukia, and I don't like competition, so buh-bye you little menace."

The shoe came down onto the little roach hard, and only a tiny 'Squish' was heard from the little man. Just as Ichigo finished cleaning his desk off he heard Rukia yell,

"Ichigo! You just killed him, didn't you!"

Ichigo winced, pulled his shoe on in record time of half a second, and jumped out of his window as Rukia stormed up the stairs. Grinning, he began to walk along the road.

"So long, Renji! I win."

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I had _fun_. But I kinda felt bad for killing the roach at the end. Mwahaha.

**_Please, Please Review!_**


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